Darisha Bailey Vath The Dylan Simmons’ murder trial in Washington County District Court in Stillwater started on Thursday with opening arguments and a fight in the lobby outside the courtroom. By the end of the day, someone had punched a hole in the wall outside Courtroom 303, a man had been banned from the courthouse for the duration of the trial, and spectators were ordered out of the courtroom and told they could watch the trial proceedings only via a video feed in a neighboring courtroom. Simmons, 21, of North Branch, has been accused of intentionally striking and killing Darisha Bailey Vath, 17, of Stacy, Minn., with his vehicle around 1:20 a.m. July 16, 2023, in Lakeside Memorial Park in downtown Forest Lake. He is facing six criminal charges in connection with Vath’s death: two counts of second-degree murder, one count of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection. Friends and family members from both sides shouted at each other outside the courtroom while a graphic video showing officers and paramedics trying to save Vath’s life was aired. A juvenile male then punched a fist-sized hole in the wall. The fighting continued over the lunch break at Carbone’s Pizzeria in Oak Park Heights, where officials said one group followed another group to the restaurant in a “threatening” manner. When the trial re-convened after lunch, Washington County District Court Judge Siv Mjanger ordered that spectators and members of the media be banned from inside the courtroom and told spectators that they would not be allowed to bring any bags into the courthouse for the rest of the trial, which is expected to last two weeks. “There have been significant concerns raised about safety — of the attorneys, witnesses, even Mr. Simmons,” Mjanger said. “There were significant outbursts this morning — understandably, it was an emotional video. Over the lunch break, there were allegations or concerns of threatening behavior. We’ve had property damaged in the courthouse.” Dylan Simmons Court security found a nail clipper in the courtroom “that should not have been (there) which causes me great concern about the safety of everyone in the courtroom,” Mjanger said. “We cannot put any of the attorneys, witnesses or Mr. Simmons in danger.” Cpl. Jason Dahms of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office warned those gathered outside the courtroom that there would be “zero tolerance” for any additional outbursts during the trial. “If you say one word to anyone on the other side, you are out of the courtroom,” Dahms said. “If you can’t be civil, you are out. If I hear anyone yelling or swearing, you are out. I understand there are emotions. I understand people are upset, but we are here to have a peaceful court. If you can’t do that, you may as well walk out now. We can’t have these proceedings disrupted.” Brewing conflict During his opening arguments, Assistant Washington County Attorney Marc Berris said a conflict between two Simmons’ group of friends and Vath’s group of friends — all former or current students at Forest Lake Area High School — had been brewing for about two years. Simmons was playing hacky sack with friends at Lakeside Park on the night of July 15, 2023, when he sent a text message to Vath’s brother, Devon Bailey Vath, telling him “to come to the park to fight,” Berris said. Simmons and a friend took hammers from Simmons’ car; people in the car Devon Bailey Vath was driving had a baseball bat and a folding knife, he told the jurors. “Both sides were in the wrong. I’m not going to sugarcoat it.” Simmons eventually got in his car and instead of leaving the scene, he “made a loop around and drove directly at Devon and Darisha,” he said. “Luckily, they were able to get out of the way. Devon will testify that he could feel the car brush his hip. But that wasn’t enough for him.” Simmons allegedly made another loop, striking the rear of Devon’s mother’s car and nearly running over someone’s foot and brushing against someone else’s leg, Berris said. “That still was not enough,” he said. “He then backed up the car and lunged forward again to where Darisha was. He drove up and over her with the front wheels of his car and the back wheels of his car crushing her head against the parking lot with his 3,000-pound vehicle.” Four videos that captured the fight and Vath’s death are going to be the “star witness of the case,” Berris said. Of the four, the video taken by Ryan Anderson, the passenger in Simmons’ car, was the most chilling, according to Berris. “What is most horrifying is not what you see, it is what you hear,” he said. “There is laughter in the car. That laughter is going to become really relevant.” During an interview with police after the hit-and-run, Simmons admitted he was driving and admitted hitting Vath, Berris said. “He said there were people surrounding the car, pounding on the car and hitting it with baseball bat,” he said. “He said he hit ‘a considerable speed bump.’ That’s how he refers to a dead 17-year-old. This was not an act of self defense. This was an act of murder. He could have driven elsewhere. He does not show an ounce of remorse or say that he was sorry. … He meant to kill someone as surely as he had picked up a gun and pulled the trigger. It is assault with a deadly vehicle.” Related Articles Crime & Public Safety | Longtime Woodbury city administrator will retire next summer Crime & Public Safety | Comcast hooks up six more Minnesota cities with Internet services Crime & Public Safety | Cottage Grove garden center owner admits to tax crime Crime & Public Safety | Washington County to host open house on County Road 74 improvement project Crime & Public Safety | Driver shortage leads to headaches for Metro Mobility clients in east metro Self-defense claim Simmons’ attorney, Connor Cremens, countered during his opening arguments that Simmons was acting out of self-defense. “The evidence will show that what happened was an unimaginable tragedy, but the evidence will also show that it wasn’t murder,” he said. “That a 17-year-old girl is gone is unbelievably tragic, but it is not murder.” Cremens told the jury that will hear “two very different versions” about what happened at Lakeside Park. “It will be your job to determine which version is credible believable, what is the truth,” he said. “The state wants to blind you … Not all tragedy is a crime and certainly not murder. The state wants you to believe that Dylan did laps around the parking lot, did donuts, with the purpose to effect the death of Darisha Bailey Vath. That he is the devil incarnate, that he is a villain, that he is targeting people with his vehicle. We will show you that that didn’t happen.” When faced with an “angry mob” in the parking lot at the park banging on his car, Simmons “did something stupid,” Cremens said. “He drove into a car. There are no donuts in the parking lot. After he hits the car, he’s got an angry mob — they are armed, and they’re surrounding his car. They’re banging, screaming. (Simmons) at that point is trying to get out of there to save himself and his friend. He turns the wheel and starts preceding to exit. Unfortunately and tragically, Darisha Bailey Vath did not get out of the way.” Prosecutors will present “horrifying” photos that will “pull at your heart strings,” Cremens told the jurors. “As evidence comes in, I want you to think about who was vulnerable that night. Dylan’s group was outnumbered, and the opposing group was coming in with weapons – you’ll see the videos. When you hear evidence, I want you to think about who escalated the violence. Watch the video, how fast did this happen? You’re going to have to decide, who’s version of the events do you believe? … It’s important that you don’t get blinded by the tragedy. Not all tragedy is murder.” Police witness Forest Lake police officer Taylor Schimmelman, the first officer on scene, was the first witness to testify on Thursday. Prosecutors showed a graphic 10-minute video from the officer’s body-worn camera in which she and other emergency responders performed CPR on Vath; a pool of blood could be seen surrounding Vath’s head. Devon Bailey Vath, 20, of Stacy, Darisha Vath’s older brother, testified Wednesday his sister and Anderson, the passenger in Simmons’ car, had been in a relationship together, and that Anderson lived with the Vath family for a period of time. He testified that he and his sister were together when Simmons drove towards them. “He reverses, and he comes at us,” Devon Bailey Vath said, struggling to hold back tears. “My selfish self jumps out of the way, and I say to my sister, ‘Get out of the way,’ and I just see her get hit by the car. When she got hit, I saw his wheels spinning really hard, so I know he was flooring it over my sister.” Vath said he ran to his sister to try and help. “She was looking at me lifeless,” he said. “She was gone when I ran up to her. There was no life in her. She was bleeding from her eyes. She was bleeding from her nose. She was bleeding from her ears, from everywhere. I saw my sister try to fight for my life. All I could do was just sit there and scream after I saw what I saw.” The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.