Current Events > Omaha Bar Owner Has Died By Suicide After He Was Charged In Shooting Of Black Ma

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https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/09/21/915266044/omaha-bar- owner-has-died-by-suicide-after-he-was-charged-in-shooting-of-black-ma

A white Omaha, Neb., bar owner who was recently indicted for his role in the fatal shooting of a young Black man in May during racial justice protests has died by suicide, according to the man's attorneys.

A grand jury returned an indictment last week against Jake Gardner, 38, more than three months after he shot and killed James Scurlock, 22. The shooting took place during a chaotic night of protests in Omaha following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a few days prior.

Lawyers for Gardner said their client, an Iraq War veteran, had received death threats, hired a body guard and had been living in California since the shooting.

The attorneys told reporters that he had recently driven to Oregon due to the wildfires,and was scheduled to return to Omaha to turn himself in Sunday to face criminal charges.

An alert by the Hillsboro, Ore., police department Sunday said officers were responding to reports of a body was found outside of a medical clinic around 12:20 p.m. local time.

"This is an extremely sad day. A day that didn't have to happen," attorney Stu Dornan said at a press conference Sunday. "A day that another vet took his own life at his own hand."

Dornan added that his client, who suffered from two traumatic brain injuries he sustained two tours of duty in Iraq, was "shook up" by the charges. He had also been evicted from the building he'd operated his bars from.

Gardner's death comes less than a week after a special prosecutor said a grand jury was charging him with four criminal counts: manslaughter, attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats and use of a firearm in connection with a felony.

His attorneys reiterated that Gardner had cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation and expressed regret that they would not have the opportunity to present a defense in what they described as an unambiguous case.

"I want to make very clear that Mr. Gardner was coming back to Omaha. And I want to make it very clear that this was a clear case of self-defense," Dornan said.

After reviewing video footage of the encounter between Gardner and Scurlock back in May, Douglas County District Attorney General Don Kleine initially ruled the shooting of Scurlock an act of self-defense. As protests continued in the city, Kleine later agreed to call a grand jury to take a second look at the case, even as he stood by his original ruling.

Scurlock family attorney Justin Wayne, who is also a state senator, told the Omaha World-Herald it would not be appropriate comment so soon after Gardner's death. He said the family is still processing what it means for their fight for justice in the case. The newspaper noted that if Gardner had been convicted, he could have faced up to 95 years in prison.

The grand jury investigation and resulting trial had been expected to make the events clearer of that tumultuous and racially-charged night in downtown Omaha. What is known comes largely from grainy surveillance and eyewitness video, showing a heated verbal exchange between Gardner and Scurlock and his friends outside Gardner's businesses, The Gatsby and The Hive bars.

Gardner told authorities that he said to Scurlock and his friends, "Keep the f*** away from me," and appeared to lift his shirt to show he was armed. At one point, the white bar owner fired what the district attorney later described as two "warning shots" that sent some people running.

Not long after, Scurlock and Gardner were apparently in a scuffle on the ground that lasted roughly 20 seconds. Then Gardner fired a shot that killed Scurlock.

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shockthemonkey posted...

This whole story is a complex mess

the short story: white racist bar owner off's himself when he's going to be indicted for killing a black man.

also to note: the beer sucked. the bar sucked (in general), the food sucked. bartenders are cool.
not alot going for it.
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shockthemonkey posted...

This whole story is a complex mess

Not really. This motherfucker had a history of violence and prejudice against racial minorities and transgenders.

If you're "man" enough to fire a gun and take a life, you should be "man" enough to deal with the consequences of your actions. Bet when he was charged he was like "WHAT!? My white privilege failed ME? HOW!?"

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Number090684 posted...

If you're "man" enough to fire a gun and take a life, you should be "man" enough to deal with the consequences of your actions. Bet when he was convicted he was like "WHAT!? My white privilege failed ME? HOW!?"

I don't think he was convicted. Just charged.

Poop2 posted...

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While I agree that he should have been charged, the whole process felt very railroaded and I wouldn't blame him for thinking he would not get a fair trial

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And Republicans are all crying for him. Republicans that support this guy are racist as fuck.

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Humble_Novice posted...

Not really. This motherfucker had a history of violence and prejudice against racial minorities and transgenders.

And it was self defense. So yeah, kind of a complex mess.

piece of shit killer racist saw his shitty self-defense claim unraveling

maybe don't be a murdering racist, is all im saying

Sucks to suck, probably shouldn't have shot the brother

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PoundGarden posted...

Sucks to suck, probably shouldn't have shot the brother

That was never the argument. The person he shot needed to be shot in that moment. The argument is if the shooter intentionally orchestrated being put in the situation that would require him to shoot someone.

Fuck that murderer.

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fair, next

eston posted...

While I agree that he should have been charged, the whole process felt very railroaded and I wouldn't blame him for thinking he would not get a fair trial

goes both ways. I dont have a ton of faith in the judicial system to believe he wouldnt have been heavily favored either.

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eston posted...

While I agree that he should have been charged, the whole process felt very railroaded and I wouldn't blame him for thinking he would not get a fair trial

Yea because if America is know for anything it is know for being hard on white people he kill black men.

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Reminder that the special prosecutor went into the grand jury investigation agreeing that it was going to be justified self defense.

Then when reviewing new evidence, most of it from Gardner himself(combination of security footage from inside the bar, his text messages and Facebook messages), he agreed with the charges the grand jury decided on.

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smh

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