Court backs ruling in shooting

LINCOLN — Dwight L. Tucker didn’t appeal his manslaughter conviction for shooting Daniel Everbeck outside a convenience store at 13th and Vinton Streets.

But he did question how he could have been found guilty both of unintentional manslaughter and intentional use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The Nebraska Supreme Court concluded Friday there was no contradiction in the two conclusions, which were reached in a bench trial by Douglas County District Judge Marlon Polk.

The high court ruling said Polk’s verdict reflected a finding that “Tucker did not intend to kill Everbeck but that he did kill Everbeck during the intentional commission of an unlawful act.”

The ruling said there was sufficient evidence to prove that Tucker committed intentional assault and that felony provided the legal basis for the weapons conviction.

“The facts that the gun was operational, was loaded and was used to shoot Everbeck are enough to infer that Tucker pulled the trigger intentionally — even if he harbored such intent only briefly,” the court said.

The ruling said: Tucker, then 24, had gone to the convenience store on June 2, 2007, with his cousin to sell drugs.

At the store, a security camera captured images of the two men approaching Everbeck. Tucker had a gun in his hand that was pointed at the ground.

The video then showed Everbeck becoming agitated and shoving Tucker. The two disappeared from view, then Tucker and his cousin ran away. Police found Everbeck 10 minutes later on the ground, wounded.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com

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