On the night of Aug. 13, prosecutors say the six Omaha boys packed into a stolen Kia had one goal in mind: to steal more Kias.
After trying to steal two vehicles and walking away with only wallets and a few other personal items, prosecutors say the boys spotted Mursal Jama, 64, pulling his black Kia into a garage at the Camelot Apartments. It was shortly before midnight, and Jama had just finished a shift as an Uber driver — a job he worked to support his 10 children and additional family in Sudan.
Prosecutors say Jama was ambushed by the boys as he sat in his garage. During a brief scuffle, one of the boys allegedly fired a single shot, striking Jama in the stomach. They then piled into his Kia and drove away.
Jama was later declared dead, marking the first homicide in Omaha since May.
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Five teens and an 11-year-old boy have since been charged in connection with Jama’s killing. Trenton Titsworth-Hunt, 17; Dasean Titsworth-Hunt, 16; Talan Wilson, 16; and Joseph Keyes, 14, are all charged as adults with first-degree murder, robbery and use of a weapon to commit a felony. A 13-year-old boy and the 11-year-old face identical charges in Juvenile Court.
The 11-year-old is one of the youngest people charged with murder in Omaha’s history — if not the youngest. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, who has been the county’s lead prosecutor for nearly two decades, said he couldn’t recall a first-degree murder charge being brought against anyone younger than 12 years old during his tenure.
The killing has reignited debates about juvenile justice laws in Nebraska, which prohibit the prosecution of people younger than 14 in adult court. That means that the Juvenile Court loses jurisdiction over youths when they turn 19, which critics say often isn’t sufficient in homicide cases.
“I think we need to at least have the discretion to charge these kids as adults,†Kleine said. “I would hope that would at least put some fear into these young people to know that (facing charges in adult court) is a possibility.â€
Kleine and others — including the Omaha Peace Officers Association — have argued for lowering the age of juveniles to be charged as adults since a 2014 law was passed requiring that the vast majority of criminal cases against juveniles begin in Juvenile Court. That law also set 14 as the minimum age for a child to be tried in adult court.
During the 2022-2023 legislative session, State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha introduced Legislative Bill 620, which would have allowed kids as young as 12 to be charged as adults when facing “the most serious of violent felonies.†The bill came after two high-profile cases in 2022 in which three Omaha 13-year-olds were charged with first-degree murder.
Though the bill never advanced past the Judiciary Committee, the committee hearing on LB 620 shows the ongoing debate about how children accused of violent crimes should be treated in Nebraska’s court system. While Kleine and representatives with the Omaha Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spoke in favor of the lowered age, civil rights groups, juvenile justice advocates and some state legislators said it would be a step backward.
“A 12-year-old who’s committed one of the acts described in LB 620 ... they are still a child,†Juliet Summers, the executive director of local nonprofit Voices for Children, said at the committee hearing. “They are all possibility. We are not here to minimize the impact of these offenses and the harm they do. But we are the adults, so we bear the responsibility to see through these actions to the child underneath.â€
Prosecutors: Boys were on a crime spree before slaying
Prosecutors said the six involved boys were in a stolen Kia when they burglarized a gun shop in Nebraska City, about 45 miles south of Omaha, shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 13. According to reporting from , a rock was thrown through the window and eight guns were stolen.
After the burglary, according to prosecutors, the boys returned to Omaha. Around 11 p.m. near 120th and Dodge Streets, they allegedly robbed two men at gunpoint in the parking lot of a gas station. They took the men’s wallets but did not succeed in stealing their car.
From there, prosecutors say, they headed to the Camelot Apartments, near 94th and Cady Streets in northwest Omaha. After trying to steal a Kia from the parking lot, and being deterred by someone peering out the window, they spotted Jama pulling into a nearby garage.
Police and prosecutors have not said which juvenile they believe is responsible for pulling the trigger in the fatal shooting.
Prosecutors said the teens returned to Nebraska City after the shooting with the intent to go to the gun shop they burglarized hours earlier. Law enforcement officers in Nebraska City were keeping an eye on the business and watched as a black Kia pulled into the parking lot before abruptly taking off.
Though police didn’t know at the time that the Kia was wanted in relation to a homicide, they were suspicious and pursued the car. The pursuit, which reached speeds of 120 mph and traveled through Otoe and Cass Counties before returning to Douglas County, eventually ended early in the morning of Aug. 14 when the car crashed near 46th and I Streets.
The six occupants fled on foot, police said. One was immediately arrested, and another three were located near 46th Avenue and J Street at about 4 a.m. after they allegedly asked to be let into a home before the resident called police.
Wilson was taken into custody the next day, and police said they were still seeking one additional suspect. That suspect was identified on Thursday as 16-year-old Dasean Titsworth-Hunt, who appeared in court for the first time on Friday.
The four teens facing adult charges were ordered to be held in custody at the Douglas County Youth Center without bail. The 13-year-old was also committed to the youth center, while the 11-year-old was placed into emergency foster care because state law bans the placement of youths younger than 13 in detention facilities.
Arrestees had Juvenile Court history
All six boys — including the 11-year-old — were already involved in the juvenile justice system before their August arrests. The four teens now charged as adults were on juvenile probation at the time of the killing, while the 13-year-old and 11-year-old were awaiting adjudication on recent charges.
Two of the defendants — Keyes and Wilson — were living together at the Child Saving Institute’s emergency shelter, where they were placed earlier this year. Both were reported missing from the shelter on Aug. 10. The 13-year-old boy was also reported missing from a shelter placement on Aug. 10, though it’s unclear from court documents where he was living.
Trenton Titsworth-Hunt was under electronic monitoring while living at his father’s home in Council Bluffs, according to court documents. Dasean Titsworth-Hunt, who is related to Trenton, was also out on probation for other juvenile offenses, but court documents do not specify where he was living.
The 11-year-old faces charges in three additional Juvenile Court cases, all of which were filed in July. In addition to the six felonies in connection with Jama’s homicide, he is suspected in six felonies related to thefts and attempted thefts of Kias and possession of a stolen handgun.
At a detention hearing for the boy on July 31, according to a court transcript released by the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, all parties in the courtroom appeared to be at a loss on where to place the boy. Because of Nebraska’s restrictions on placing juveniles younger than 13 in detention, the options were to send the boy home to live with his mother or to place him in a foster home or crisis shelter.
The boy was ultimately sent back to his mother’s home, where he lived until he was arrested in connection with Jama’s killing.
“If you want to continue to stay at home with your mom and your family, then you need to knock off the nonsense,†Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Chad Brown told the 11-year-old at the hearing. “You’re smart enough to know you should not be around a gun. You’re smart enough to now you don’t take things that don’t belong to you. You are smart enough to know that you do the right thing.â€
“OK,†the boy responded.
“Do you understand how important this is?†Brown asked.
“Yes,†the boy said.