OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An Omaha trial has begun for a man accused in the road-rage killing of an Iraq War veteran.
Michael Benson, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of James Womack, 32, The Omaha World-Herald reported. The shooting occurred at a busy Omaha intersection 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. Womack was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
Benson’s attorney, Beau Finley, said there’s no proof his client fired the shots or was even in the truck involved in the dispute. After the shooting, Benson told police that his truck had been stolen days before the shooting.
Prosecutors Ryan Lindberg and Amy Jacobsen said a GPS tracking device on Benson’s vehicle and surveillance video show he was driving the vehicle the day of the shooting. They said they’re confident the evidence will lead to a conviction.
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.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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