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Nebraska man stands trial for killing of Iraq War Vet

Posted at 12:07 PM, Feb 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-27 13:07:16-05

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha trial has begun for a man accused in the road-rage killing of an Iraq War.

Michael Benson, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of James Womack, 32, in a shooting death back in 2017.

Dashcam video from another vehicle shows that the altercation began after Womack got out of his semitrailer and yelled at Benson, pounded on the passenger-side window of Benson's truck and started to walk back to his semitrailer.

Witnesses testified in a Douglas County courtroom Tuesday that they heard gunshots and then saw Womack fall to the ground. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Benson was originally charged with being an accessory to a felony in the shooting before prosecutors increased the charge to second-degree murder in March 2018.

Womack was in the Army and served three tours in Iraq before he moved to Omaha with his wife to raise their three children.