ELYRIA — Neil Simpson didn’t hesitate when he gunned down Granny D’s Pizza owner David Kowalczyk, Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Tony Cillo told jurors Tuesday during opening arguments in Simpson’s capital murder trial.

Simpson walked into the Lorain pizzeria on June 23, 2007, hopped over the counter, pointed a black and gray 9 mm semiautomatic pistol at Kowalczyk and pulled the trigger, Cillo said.

Two women who were in the pizza shop — Theresa Davis and Alison Hornak — huddled behind a pop machine as Simpson stole money from a cash register and fled the scene, Cillo said.

But defense attorney David Doughten said Simpson wasn’t the killer.

“What appears on the surface may not be the case,” he said.

Doughton pointed the finger at Simpson’s co-defendants, Richar D. Perry and Scotty Parker. Parker, who prosecutors contend was the getaway driver, took a plea deal two years ago, agreeing to testify against Simpson in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.

“In order to minimize their damage, they have to cooperate,” he said.

Doughton didn’t dispute that Simpson’s rented Nissan was seen leaving the scene of the robbery, but he said Parker had taken the keys to the vehicle from a drunken Simpson earlier that night.

Doughton also said there is no DNA or fingerprint evidence tying Simpson to the crime scene.

But Cillo said there were prints from a gardening glove, similar to ones Simpson used during his day job as a landscaper, at the scene.

He also said that an acquaintance of Simpson’s from Columbus reported the gun — recovered three days after the shooting — stolen after hearing that Simpson had been involved in an armed robbery.

“All roads lead to one person — Neil Simpson,” Cillo said.

Another witness who will take the stand, Cillo said, will describe an encounter with Simpson at a bar a few days before the robbery.

Simpson had the gun stuck in his shorts and reportedly told the woman, “ ‘Don’t worry, baby, I’m Neil and I always shoot to kill,’ ” Cillo said.

Simpson told another witness that the gun “was like his underwear. He didn’t go anywhere without it.”

Simpson had also called Davis from his sister’s cell phone a day before the shooting and asked her to go out with him. When she declined, Cillo said, he asked if that was because she was dating Kowalczyk.

Davis, Cillo said, recognized Simpson and his distinctive walk when he came into the pizzeria the night of the shooting.

Cillo also said Simpson called Lorain police Detective Steyven Curry after the shooting and asked why he was looking for him.

“ ‘What are you looking for me for?’ ” Cillo said Simpson asked Curry. “ ‘You won’t find me. I can get out of the country.’ ”

Simpson also is accused in the June 10, 2007, robbery of Don’s Marathon, the June 16, 2007, robbery of Chapman’s Grocery Store and the June 21, 2007, robbery of Jack & Diane’s Lounge. Those cases will go to trial after the murder trial is concluded.

Perry, who is still awaiting trial, is charged in all of those robberies except for the one at Don’s Marathon.

The trial resumes today.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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