Locked in a Douglas County Youth Center cell after a 3:30 a.m. car theft arrest, the youngest suspect in a 2024 Omaha murder is facing new detention orders. Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Chad Brown called the 13-year-old a serious threat to the community during a Thursday hearing, WOWT reported.
The teen was originally arrested in 2024 as an 11-year-old connected to the carjacking and shooting death of 64-year-old Uber driver Mursal Jama. Jama was returning home near 92nd and Maple Streets from his second job on Aug. 13, 2024, when he was killed.
Investigators said the boy was with five older teens who broke into a gun store in Nebraska City an hour away, stole firearms, and terrorized drivers before Jama was shot.
The state’s murder case against the 11-year-old was dismissed after medical professionals found he was not competent to stand trial. Juvenile court officials sent him away for nearly two years of rehabilitation. In September, supervisors told the judge he was ready to return home to live with his mother and attend public school.
Just a month after returning home, police arrested the teen near 38th and Decatur streets. Investigators allege he stole one vehicle and worked with other juveniles to steal two more during an early morning outing. His mother told authorities she did not know his whereabouts because he disabled the location tracker on his phone after violating his 6 p.m. curfew.
Court documents indicate the teen stated he is gang affiliated. Prosecutors also presented records showing at least four separate middle school incidents in September and October involving the teen punching or threatening fellow students.
“He’s been doing well up to this point and happened to get in with the wrong crowd of juveniles,” the teen’s lawyer told the judge in court.
Four older boys involved in the 2024 crime spree faced adult court consequences. Trenton Tisworth-Hunt, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Same for Deasean Titsworth-Hunt, 16; and Talan Wilson, 16. Joseph Keyes, 14, was sentenced to 35 years.
Under Nebraska law, the youngest suspect remains under juvenile jurisdiction because he is 13. Judge Brown ordered a competency hearing and asked for possibilities on what an out-of-home placement could look like. The two sides will be back in court in three weeks to discuss it.
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