Omaha, Nebraska – A white business owner accused of murdering a black man during a protest in Nebraska for fatally shooting him to death in the days following his suicide, his lawyer said Sunday.
Jacob Gardner of Oba, Nebraska, was found dead outside a medical clinic in Hillsboro, Reagan, on Sunday, the Hillsboro Police Department said in a news release. His attorney, Stu Dornan, told a news conference Sunday evening that Gardner’s death was a suicide.
“Unfortunately, there are two men who died in a terrible accident,” Doran said. “It’s a terrible tragedy for the Omaha community, it’s a terrible tragedy for James Scarlock and his family. It’s a terrible tragedy for the Gardner family.”
Gardner, 38, was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday in connection with the death of James Scarlock, Blackman authorities say. Gardner was also charged with attempted assault, making terrorist threats and using a gun to commit a crime.
Gardner said he fired the gun in self-defense.
Douglas County Attorney Don Klein initially decided not to charge Gardner, saying he acted in self-defense. After sharp criticism, a grand jury was called to investigate the case, resulting in the charges against Gardner.
World-Herald by Chris Machian / Omaha AP
Dornen said California Gardner was “really shaken” after the grand jury’s indictment after the shooting. “The grand jury charge was a shock to him, and a shock to us,” Doran said.
Attorney Tom Monag, who also spoke during Sunday’s news conference, said “the Omaha community has blamed Mr. Gardner on social media.”
Special Public Prosecutor Frederick Franklin said the group jury reviewed additional evidence that Klein did not have, including the text of Grandner’s phone, messages on his Facebook profile and his interactions with expatriates before he came in contact with Spurlock.
Franklin refuses to elaborate on what the new evidence shows except that it undermines the notion of self-defense.
An arrest warrant was granted for Gardner on Friday. He was due to return to Omaha on Sunday to face charges against him, Dornen said.
CBS Omaha affiliate KMTV reports that Dornan said Gardner suffered two brain injuries and PTSD during and during his trip to Iraq.
Doran said Gardner told him he thought he was on the battlefield outside the bar with violence, tear gas and mass confusion.
He added that Gardner was very upset and remorseful about the events that took place on the night of the shooting and did not initially know what had happened to Scrolllock.
Dornen said he advised Gardner to leave Omaha after Klein initially announced no charges would be filed. Gardner allegedly received numerous death threats and fled to Northern California.
KMTV also reported that attorneys said Gardner planned to return to Omaha on Sunday evening from the Regland area of Portland, where he was visiting his father.
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