- A robbery suspect led Omaha police on a chase that ended when he barricaded himself inside LaShawna Jones' North Omaha home, leaving her displaced with nothing.
- Jones, a caregiver, said her clients were asleep in the basement during the standoff and had no idea what was happening.
- The loss is especially devastating for Jones, who said she had already rebuilt her life after her daughters drowned in the Missouri River last year, only to lose everything again.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
LaShawna Jones stood inside her North Omaha home Friday with almost nothing left. Police used flash bang grenades, a chemical agent, and ultimately tore the side of the house off to arrest a robbery suspect who had barricaded himself inside Thursday evening.
Jones said she lost everything.
"Everything that I've worked hard for after losing my daughter in the river. I lost everything. And I got it back just to lose it again. Just to lose it again. So I don't know," Jones said.
When I arrived at the home, Jones didn't even have clothes to wear.
She walked me through the home, pointing out the damage and trying to make sense of what happened after police came to her door Thursday evening.
"They tell us to get out. They get us over here and says that a man jumped out of a car and ran into my house," Jones said.
Omaha police say a robbery suspect led them on a chase from west Omaha to the home, then barricaded himself inside for hours. Officers used flash bang grenades, a chemical agent, and finally ripped the side of the house off before arresting the suspect.
Inside, the damage is overwhelming. The smell is so strong that at times, it is difficult to breathe.
Jones is a caregiver, and in the middle of the chaos, her first thought wasn't about herself.
"My clients was in the house. They were in the basement sleep, had no clue what was going on. Like, this is crazy," Jones said.
Chrome Lewis, who knows the suspect, said he tried to bring the standoff to an end. He saw Jones' house on television, called to check on her, and ended up being connected to the suspect.
"I was able to negotiate with him, try to get him to a point where he wanted to come out. This was about 8:29 p.m. He said he would be out at 8:32," Lewis said.
Lewis said the situation changed abruptly.
"He was startled by something going through the window, flash bang or something, and he thought they were shooting. So put him on high alert, and then after that, he refused to come out and his tone was different," Lewis said.
Jones said she still doesn't fully understand why the suspect chose her home.
"I don't know why they ran in my house. I don't know what was going on. I'm hearing that it was all over a shoplifting. I'm not sure what happened. I don't know what happened. I'm just as confused. I'm just, I'm lost," Jones said.
Lewis described the scope of the destruction left behind.
"You can't keep the clothes, you can't keep the couch. You can't keep the bed. You can't live here. Important documents are all over the place. It looks like the house has been raided," Lewis said.
For Jones, the loss cuts especially deep. She said she had already been through unimaginable heartbreak after her daughters drowned in the Missouri River last year.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Jones begin rebuilding.
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