Sixth juvenile suspect in Omaha man's murder charged as adult

OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) – The line of juveniles facing court appearances in connection with the shooting death of 64-year-old Mursal Jama continued Friday.

A sixth juvenile suspect – 16-year-old Desean Titsworth-Hunt – is charged as an adult with first-degree murder. He is the second family member allegedly involved in the crime. Desean's older brother, 17-year-old Trenton Titsworth-Hunt, has also been charged with murder in the case.

Prosecutors allege the six teens were in a stolen car and had already robbed a couple at a convenience store before gunning down Jama and stealing his car on August 13 near the corner of 93rd Street and Cady Avenue.

In court on Friday, Desean spoke with his public defender, who asked the judge to set bail for his client. Afterward, he says, Hunt told him he did not fire the fatal shot.

“These were acts committed by a group of individuals,” the lawyer said. “As far as I am aware, Mr Titsworth-Hunt was not the one who owned the firearm or fired the firearms. While I understand that there are obviously a number of other factors that can still qualify as premeditated murder, I would like the court to take into account the fact that he was not the one who caused the death of another person.”

But Judge Thomas Harmon stuck strictly to the rules and cited the state constitution.

“Article 1, Section 9 provides that all persons are liable with reasonable certainty except for treason, sexual offenses or murder,” Judge Harmon said. “Currently, the defendant is charged with being an accessory to the murder of a person. Bail is not being set at this time.”

Desean Titsworth-Hunt was also ordered not to have any contact with his five co-defendants in the case. Currently, four of them – Trenton and Desean Titsworth-Hunt, 14-year-old Joseph Keyes and 16-year-old Talan Wilson – are being tried as adults. The other two suspects, ages 11 and 13, are being held as juveniles.

Preliminary hearings for the four adults charged are scheduled for next month.

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