JUSTICE: Omaha Business Owner Who Shot Rioting Looter Dead While Being Attacked Will Not Face Charges
Shane Trejo
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An Omaha, Neb. business owner who shot a rioter to defend his property will not be charged with a crime, authorities have announced.
“One of the troubling things… is there is a lot of misinformation about this case in particular,” said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine.
Kleine said that James Scurlock, the 22-year-old man who was shot dead on Saturday night, spoke with the business owner, identified as Jake Gardner, accompanied by an unruly mob of looters. Members of the mob had previously shoved down Gardner’s father.
Gardner asked the mob leave the premise and showed that he was carrying a handgun to indicate his seriousness. This did not dissuade the mob, who attacked Gardner despite the fact that he had a handgun before falling into a puddle on the street in front of a bar. Gardner grabbed his gun and fired two warning shots at this point, causing one mob member to run away.
Scurlock refused to stop his attack and pummeled Gardner, reportedly choking him. Witnesses said they could hear Gardner telling Scurlock to “get off” of him at this point. Gardner was eventually able to get off a shot, which hit Scurlock in the collar bone. Scurlock was transported to Nebraska Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Law enforcement was able to figure out exactly what happened during the scuffle after consulting with witnesses and reviewing security camera footage.
“The bar owner was interviewed with lawyers present. He said the first shot was a warning shot. He said Scurlock jumped on him and he was scared Scurlock was going to take his gun. He fired in self-defense. He was scared he would lose his life or severe bodily injury,” Kleine said.
Gardner was detained on Saturday night, but was released from custody on Sunday night and will not face charges.
“He has shown he has a gun. He made it clear he was armed. He said when someone was on top of him that they said they were going to kill him,” Kleine said.
Kleine added that Gardner seemed shocked and remorseful over what he had to do to defend his property and his personal safety against the mob.
Attorney Justin Wayne, who is representing the family of the dead thug, is making this into a racial issue and demanding that Gardner be prosecuted for acting in self-defense.
“In this community, we prosecute black and brown individuals a lot more for things like we just watched,” Wayne said. “[Gardner] had an unlawful carry concealed weapon.”
“We watched a video where anybody else would have gotten charged with something,” he added. “We are asking for a grand jury and charges to be brought against [Gardner].”
For now, the rule of law has prevailed in this case. However, Gardner may ultimately be sacrificed on the altar of diversity and multiculturalism for using his 2nd Amendment rights as they were intended to be used.
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