Woman stabs hair stylist in fight over canceled appointment, $20 deposit
By Michaela Springer
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MERRILLVILLE, Indiana (WISH) — A Merrillville woman faces battery charges after police say she stabbed a hair stylist twice after learning her daughter’s hair appointment had been canceled.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Merrillville Police Department officers just before 5 p.m. Thursday responded to a battery incident at a hair salon in the 5400 block of Broadway.
There, they spoke with three stylists, one of which said she had been stabbed by a client, 36-year-old Takary Sims, during an argument over a canceled appointment and $20 deposit.
Stylist canceled after Sims ran late In conversations with detectives, the victim said Sims had reached out to her over Facebook to schedule an appointment to get her daughter’s hair braided. She said she had never met Sims before the booking.
On the day of the appointment, Sims reached out through text asking for the address to the salon, and the stylist said she instructed Sims to look at the booking email. Sims reportedly replied with a threat, telling the stylist “(expletive) don’t play with me.”
The victim says Sims was late to the appointment, prompting her to cancel. After messaging about the cancellation, the victim said Sims responded with additional threats.
Then, Sims showed up at the salon with her daughter in tow. A verbal argument broke out between Sims and stylist, which then turned into a fight. Other employees quickly intervened.
At some point, Sims reached into her purse and pulled out a knife, stabbing the stylist in the left forearm twice.
Sims and her daughter then fled the scene. Another stylist later mentioned to police she feared Sims had a gun, and called out for her to stop when she reached into her bag.
The victim later told detectives Sims threatened to come back and shoot up the salon.
Sims claims stabbing was in self-defense Almost twenty minutes after the hair salon stabbing, Sims actually called 911, reporting that she “stabbed a girl up” in self-defense after the stylist “ran up on her” and started punching her in the back of the head.
Police say when speaking with investigators, Sims confirmed that she scheduled an appointment with the stylist who get her daughter’s hair braided. When she reached out trying to get more information, Sims says her attempts garnered “negative results.”
Sims added that she had already paid a $20 deposit for the appointment, but couldn’t get the stylist to confirm where her salon was.
She eventually found the shop online, but when she and her daughter arrived, she learned the stylist actually worked at a different location a few blocks away. Only then did the hair stylist text Sims the address, advising Sims that she was late.
Sims told police she became angry knowing she was going to lose her deposit, so she went to the second location to try and get her money back. After learning the deposit was nonrefundable, the women began to fight.
Sims claimed as she was walking away, it was the hair stylist who threw the first punch. Not wanting to fight in front of her daughter, Sims told detectives she pulled a knife from her bag to defend her and her daughter. After stabbing the stylist, she says she “picked up her child and left the scene.”
When asked about the other threats, the affidavit says Sims did threaten to shoot her, but she doesn’t own a firearm. “She was just angry,” Sims said.
Brawl caught on CCTV cameras During the investigation, detectives reviewed the salon’s CCTV footage, which caught Sims and her daughter entering the salon. Sims and stylist’s argument can be heard, but not seen.
Eventually, Sims exits the stylist’s private booth and enters the hallway, dragging her daughter behind. The cameras hear Sims threaten to hurt the stylist.
The stylist follows behind Sims, saying, “Do it right now, (expletive).”
Sims turns, and the women are seen hitting each other in the face. Another stylist appears, pulling Sims’ daughter out of the way of danger and trying to intervene. The second stylist then restrains the first to stop her, and Sims is seen reaching into her bag for her knife.
The second stylist is heard yelling, “No, no, no!” Sims then slashes at the stylist, striking her twice.
When she stops swinging the knife, she gathers the things that fell out of her bag, then calmly tells her daughter, “Come on, baby.” The pair then walk out of the salon.
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It was unclear if Sims sustained any injuries; police wrote in the affidavit that the hair stylist received stitches for the two cuts on her arm.
Sims was booked into the Lake County jail Thursday evening and released Saturday after posting bond.
Court records show she faces charges of battery by means of a deadly weapon, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of intimidation.
She’s due in court for a hearing Sept. 24.
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