UPDATE: 4:30 p.m.
Less than nine hours after receiving the initial dispatch call this morning at 6:29 a.m., law enforcement placed three suspects in custody in relation to Lincoln's first homicide of the year. A Lincoln Police Department press release describes its role and the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office in the investigation and arrests.
"Uniformed patrol officers and investigators collaborated to quickly gather evidence and investigate the details of this incident. A Lancaster County Deputy observed the suspects getting into two different vehicles at the U-Suds, 946 South 27. Traffic stops on both vehicles were conducted and five parties contacted. Ultimately 32-year-old Derrick Pearson and 31-year-old Briana Jelinek were arrested for Manslaughter and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony. 25-year-old Micah Berggren was arrested for Second Degree Assault and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony," said the press release.
According to inmate records from Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Pearson was convicted of felony attempted robbery in 2010 and served a 15-month sentence, and then in 2012 was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a felony for which he served over five years. Berggren's record shows misdemeanor charges of attempted violation of a protection order, misdemeanor child abuse, misdemeanor violation of a protection order and felony assault by strangulation. It appears he was under supervised release from February to December 2021. Jelenik did not appear to have a record in Nebraska.
A press briefing will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday. LPD encourages anyone with information about the case to call 402-441-6000 or call Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600.
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The Lincoln Police Department announced its first homicide of the year on Thursday.
At 6:29 a.m., officers responded to a call of two males fighting, but found an unresponsive individual on the 2800 block of F Street. The victim, who has not been identified but was said to be 57 years of age, was transported to an area hospital where he died.
"This is Lincoln’s first homicide of the year, and one is too many," read an LPD press release on the matter. "We take these cases very seriously and will work tirelessly to investigate the incident and apprehend those responsible."
The investigation is still developing and will be processed by the LPD Crime Scene Investigation team for digital and forensic evidence.
In comparison, Omaha Police Department's data shows seven homicides to date in 2022. Omaha has a larger population than Lincoln at 479,529 compared to Lincoln's 286,388, based on data from the US Census Bureau in 2020.
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