No charges will be filed in the death of 22 year old James Scurlock against the business owner who fired fatal shots Saturday night in the Old Market.
In his update Monday afternoon, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said the shooting death of Scurlock was senseless, and he showed video clips obtained from nearby businesses of the shooting. "One of the troubling things is there is a lot of misinformation about this case in particular."
Kleine described the events leading up to and including Scurlock's death from video evidence and witness accounts. Scurlock and others could be seen speaking with the business owner in front of The Hive near 12th and Harney Saturday night after one of the members of the group had shoved the man's father to the ground.
The man, who Kleine initially did not name but later confirmed was Jake Gardner, is seen backing away from the group and Scurlock, asking them to leave him alone and not to damage his business. Gardner lifted his shirt to display a handgun in his waistband.
The group attacked Gardner and they fell into a puddle on the street in front of the bar. Gardner grabbed his gun and fired two shots, which caused one member to run away from Gardner.
Scurlock was seen tackling Gardner from behind while Gardner was trying to stand. Gardner later told police Scurlock had him in a chokehold and witnesses said they heard Gardner say "Get off me" several times.
Gardner fired one shot which struck Scurlock in the collarbone, killing him. "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 in police custody from Saturday night to Sunday night at Omaha Police Headquarters.
"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. He added Gardner appeared remorseful, scared and shocked when he was interviewed by investigators. He said they usually do not release the name of individuals who are not being charged by the office, but confirmed the business owner was Jacob Gardner.
A few minutes after Kleine finished answering questions about his announcement Monday, State Senator Justin Wayne responded on behalf of the Scurlock family saying it was disappointing that the county attorney met with community leaders about the decision not to press charges before telling Scurlock's father. "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."
Kleine said Gardner had a carry concealed weapons permit but it was expired at the time of the shooting.
Wayne said the facts of the case described by Kleine were "a credibility issue" but that is decided by a jury, not a judge. Wayne asked for a grand jury to be formed. "We watched a video where anybody else would have gotten charged with something," he said. "We are asking for a grand jury and charges to be brought against (Gardner)."
Wayne says he is in possession of other videos taken at the scene of the shooting that were not shown during Kleine's press conference and that he's not sure Kleine or the police have seen these other videos.