Crime & Justice

Nebraska Bar Owner Set to Turn Himself In Over Fatal Shooting of Protester Dies By Suicide

The Nebraska bar owner due to face manslaughter charges over the death of a protester has taken his own life.

Published

4 years ago

September 21, 2020

Unheard Voices Staff

Nebraska Bar Owner Set to Turn Himself In Over Fatal Shooting of Protester Dies By Suicide

James Scurlock/Jake Gardner

Jake Gardner, the Nebraska bar owner due to face manslaughter charges over the death of a protester , has taken his own life.

Table of Contents

Nebraska bar owner Jake Gardner takes his own life

On Friday, a judge signed an arrest warrant for Jake Gardner.

According to his lawyers, Gardner, 38, had agreed to turn himself in on Sunday. Instead, he was found dead near Portland, Oregon, according to his lawyers.

He fatally shot 22-year-old James Scurlock

James Scurlock

22-year-old James Scurlock was shot dead on May 30 during a night of protests, five days after the death of George Floyd.

Gardner’s lawyers maintain Scurlock’s death was a case of self-defense, after Gardner’s bar came under attack during protests. CCTV footage from the night showed him in a confrontation with protesters outside the bar, which had just had its windows smashed.

Jake Gardner confronts protesters

TooFab reports:

After being shoved to the ground, Gardner fired two shots; Scurlock then jumped on his back and was fatally shot.

Gardner was not initially charged. The decision not to charge Gardner and release him was met with furious reaction at the time, as protesters claimed Scurlock had been trying to stop him from shooting anybody else.

Gardner allegedly had a racist path

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine was accused of overlooking Gardner’s alleged “racist past”; after intense pressure he asked the grand jury to reexamine the case. When prosecutors did, they said they found evidenced — primarily from Gardner himself in texts and social media — that “undermined” the self-defense theory.

Indictment

Last Tuesday, the grand jury indicted him on four charges: manslaughter, attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats and weapon use, which collectively bore a maximum prison sentence of 95 years.

On Friday, a judge approved an arrest warrant.

According to his lawyers, Gardner had agreed to hand himself in on Sunday. Instead, he was found dead near Portland, Oregon.

Nebraska bar owner Jake Gardner allegedly agreed to turn himself in

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday night, Gardner’s attorney Stu Dornan said his client had fully and honestly cooperated with law enforcement, and one of the most respected and seasoned prosecutors had decided not to charge or even arrest him.

He said Gardner, an ex-Marine who served in Iraq, was on disability payments because of PTSD, having suffered two traumatic brain injuries.

“He told us that he felt he was in a war zone that night outside of his bar, with the violence, the tear gas and the mass confusion,” Dornan said.

Dornan said he advised Gardner to leave Omaha because of the intense death threats he was receiving, which led him to hire a bodyguard. Clearly emotional, Dornan said two men lost their lives in what was a terrible tragedy, that culminated in a “trail by media.”

This violence must stop. The justice system must be allowed to do its work. Cases should be decided in a courtroom, and not on social media in the context of public opinion.

“This is an extremely sad day, a day that didn’t have to happen… a day that another vet took his own life at his own hand.

----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Crime & Justice

Arrests made for fatal shooting at Delaware State University

Camay Mitchell De Silva was shot and killed on April 21 while visiting her best friend at Delaware State University.

Published

4 days ago

May 13, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Camay Mitchell De Silva (Photo Source: GoFundMe)

Authorities have announced arrests have been made for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva last month at Delaware State University.

Table of Contents

Arrests made in Delaware State shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva

De Silva was shot and killed by a stray bullet on April 21 while visiting her best friend who attended Delaware State University.

Police announced in a press release that 20-year-old Destry Jones and 18-year-old Damien Hinson, both from Dover, are being charged with the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of two other young men in connection with the April 21 shooting.

Jones was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and Hinson was arrested later that day in Dover, police said.

According to authorities, neither of the suspects in this case are enrolled at or affiliated with Delaware State University.

Police claimed Jones and Hinson were involved in a fight with two other men before shots were fired. Investigators do not believe De Silva was the intended target or involved in the altercation.

Beloved taken too soon

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

Crime & Justice

Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 28, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora

Elijah McClain and Jeremy Cooper (CBS News)

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Table of Contents

Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced

He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.

Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.

Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.

Police stop turns fatal

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.

He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.

Crime & Justice

Honor student killed by stray bullet while visiting Delaware State University

A shooting at Delaware State University has claimed the life of 18-year-old honor student Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 26, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Camay Mitchell De Silva

Camay Mitchell De Silva, of Wilmington, Delaware, was shot and killed Sunday, on the Delaware State University campus.

The 18-year-old was visiting her best friend, a Delaware State student, when the tragic shooting occurred.

Table of Contents

She was an honor student

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

De Silva often hung out on campus with her best friend to get comfortable before attending DSU.

Delaware State shooting

The family said De Silva was visiting that friend at DSU on Saturday, April 20, and attended a party on campus that night. Around 1:40 a.m. on April 21, DSU Police received a report of shots fired on campus. The responding officers found De Silva in a residence hall suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. The officers administered aid and then took her to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Police say De Silva was not the intended target. Dover Police Department Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. told NBC10 there was a dispute that she was not involved in and she was hit by a stray bullet.

The suspects were seen fleeing the area and no arrests have been made, said authorities.

Dover Police released a statement from De Silva’s family requesting time to grieve and to plan for her celebration of life.