OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Omaha Uber driver - Mursal Jama was shot and killed last week in northwest Omaha. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine has charged five people, the youngest just 11-years-old.
Court records show it's not his first offense. The 11-year-old was just in court last month for theft and gun charges. Nebraska law states that a child 12 and younger cannot be placed in detention for any reason. The law also states anyone under the age of 14 cannot be charged as an adult.
"The code does allow for some alternatives to detention. However, in practice, many of those alternatives aren't available. What I'm referring to is electronic monitoring, GPS...," said Creighton University Law Professor Leigh Ellis.
Ellis is a former public defender who handled juvenile crimes. She said the solution to this is to add more services to help children in situations like this.
"What we need here in Douglas County is more stability services," said Ellis. "We need more shelter placements. If, for instance, the home is not a suitable placement for the youth, they can go to a shelter," she said.
In a phone interview, Vice President Dan Martin with the Omaha Police Officers Association said more needs to be done at the legislature to prevent something like this from happening again.
"I absolutely think there needs to be changes to our law," said Martin. "I think that we need secure infrastructure for some of these repeat juvenile offenders that need rehabilitation."
Court records show that the 11-year-old will be back in court at the end of the month, facing additional charges stemming from last week's homicide.
"It's especially tragic when you have someone of that age, so young, being charged with such a serious offense," said Ellis.
Kleine said one more person may face charges for their alleged involvement in the homicide.
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