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LINCOLN — Citing testimony from family members of Dana Turner Sr., the state denied parole for an Omaha man who shot and killed Turner at a Ponca Hills-area party in 1993.
The Nebraska Board of Parole on Wednesday voted 4-0 to defer a decision on the release of Tremayne Herndon for two years.
Six relatives of Turner’s told the board they opposed parole for what they called a senseless killing by a complete stranger that left two young boys without a father.
“I don’t understand. We get a life sentence without a brother. We can’t go before a board and see if we can get that removed,” Danny Turner, an older brother, told the board.
Herndon, now 35, was sentenced to life in prison for second- degree murder and 62/3 years to 15 years for use of a firearm to commit a felony.
He became eligible for parole in 2001 and has been working at a Lincoln demolition company through a work-release program for the past five months.
Turner, 31, was shot in the head as he sat in a friend’s car outside a party on North Post Road in Omaha’s Ponca Hills area.
Witnesses told police that Herndon argued with several people outside the party, grabbed a sawed-off shotgun and struggled with one party attendee. He then broke free and fired into the car in which Turner was sitting. Herndon told investigators in 1993 that Turner had insulted him with a racial slur.
Herndon said Wednesday that Turner was shot because he was sitting in a car owned by the man with whom he had been arguing.
“I’m really truly sorry for what I did. I was young and immature,” Herndon told the Parole Board. “It started with an argument, with my temper it escalated further and, being under the influence of alcohol, it increased that.”
He said that he didn’t know who his father was and that his mother worked the night shift. So he had no one telling him that the life of a dropout, doing drugs and alcohol, was wrong.
Board member Rosalyn Cotton asked Herndon how he would cope if he were released.
Herndon said he would avoid people who do drugs and alcohol. He told Cotton he would seek to become a mentor or counselor to help children avoid the mistakes he made.
In prison, Herndon earned his high school equivalency diploma and received anger and substance abuse counseling.
The motion to defer another parole hearing to 2011 included a directive to continue the counseling.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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