An Omaha family is setting the groundwork to change Nebraska law when it comes to witness tampering.
On Tuesday, accused killer Larry Goynes walked out of jail after a witness in the murder case of Kyle LeFlore changed her story just weeks before trial. LeFlore's family is angry, frustrated and disappointed that charges were dropped against Goynes because of apparent witness tampering.
Goynes was accused of robbing and shooting Kyle in January while the Army Sergeant was back in Omaha on leave from the military.
His father wants to be a spark for change in the justice system. Kay LeFlore tells 6 News, “There's so many ways you can threaten people nowadays. On the phone. Social media. Something has to be changed. We're not winning this war, we're losing it."
Now, an Omaha state senator has signed on to a plan to make witness tampering a more serious crime. State Senator Justin Wayne plans to introduce legislation in January making witness tampering match or nearly match the underlying charge.
Kyle's family agrees with Senator Wayne, that something has to change when it comes to charging those who tamper or intimidate witnesses. The LeFlore family is vowing to change the law so that if you tamper with a witness or jury in a murder case you get charged with being an accessory to murder.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says the state is going to do what it can to re-file the charges if and when more witnesses come forward. Kleine also says he would like to see stiffer penalties for witness tampering. “The penalty for jury tampering is a class IV felony which carries up to two years max in prison. That's not a correct penalty for anyone messing with the system either tampering with witnesses or a jury."
Kay says his family will continue to push for change so that the truth prevails. “Kyle had a saying,'Don't be weak out here in these streets.' And that's going to be my motto. I'm not going to be weak on the streets. Let's take the streets."