An argument about misplaced car keys led to the fatal stabbing of an Omaha man at his own home in January, according to testimony from an Omaha police detective.
Alvaro Escamilla Sr., 48, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. He of manslaughter, use of a knife to commit a felony, possession of a weapon by a felon and possession of methamphetamine in connection with the Jan. 31 killing of 55-year-old Steve Tangeman.
Dustin Morris, a homicide detective with the Omaha Police Department, was called by prosecutors to testify about the investigation. At the close of Tuesday’s hearing, Douglas County Court Judge Thomas Harmon sent the case to District Court for further proceedings.
People are also reading…
According to Morris’ testimony:
Police were called to a home near 15th and Y Streets shortly before 8 p.m. on Jan. 31 to reports of a stabbing. Someone in the home was performing CPR on Tangeman when police arrived.
Tangeman was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead at 8:42 p.m. An autopsy revealed that Tangeman’s cause of death was exsanguination, or “bleeding out.†He had been stabbed in the right bicep near his armpit, striking his axillary artery.
The home on Y Street was occupied by Tangeman, his sister and a female acquaintance who had been living there for about six months. According to Morris, the female acquaintance lost a coat a few days prior that had her car keys in the pocket. She believed Tangeman stole the coat and keys.
Escamilla, who was related to the female occupant of the Y Street home by marriage and was known to Tangeman, went to the home on the evening of Jan. 31 after hearing about the lost keys. After the female occupant went into Tangeman’s room and searched for her coat and keys to no avail, Morris said Escamilla began threatening everyone in the home.
Escamilla and Tangeman moved into the living room of the home and engaged in a verbal argument, which eventually escalated into a physical fight. It was during this fight that Escamilla allegedly produced a black pocketknife and stabbed Tangeman in the arm.
Escamilla left the home after the stabbing. Morris said the female occupant of the home didn’t realize Tangeman had been stabbed until she walked into the living room and saw “a lot of blood.â€
After a brief police pursuit on the evening of Jan. 31, Escamilla was arrested and his car was searched. In his vehicle, officers found eight knives and “possibly a machete,†Morris said, as well as a baggie containing methamphetamine. The knife allegedly used in the stabbing was also found in the car, and it still had Tangeman’s blood on it.
Morris said he didn’t know if the coat or keys were ever found.
Escamilla’s bail was previously set at 10% of $250,000, meaning he would need to pay $25,000 to be released from custody. He remains incarcerated at the Douglas County Jail.