Topical Alert

22-year-old Omahan who fatally shot his friend could leave prison in less than a year

Prefer us on Google Learn More

OMAHA -- A group of friends gathered at a Motel 6 hotel room near 84th Street and Interstate 80 for a party.

Also present on Sept. 4, 2020, were an assortment of illegal drugs and a stolen handgun. Drugged up on Xanax, ecstasy and LSD, 20-year-old Mason Beaverson handled the gun, at one point aiming it at someone. Partygoers told him to stop.

Mason Beaverson

Then, Beaverson pointed the gun at 17-year-old Evan Latto, who himself had ingested methamphetamine, opioids and marijuana, and pulled the trigger. Latto was killed.

Douglas County District Judge Timothy Burns said Thursday that the tragic events of that night show that guns and drugs don’t mix.

“This was a preventable accident,” Burns said. “There’s no question you didn’t mean to kill (Latto) ... but you’ll be forever responsible for his death.”

People are also reading…

Under Burns’ sentencing order, Beaverson will be eligible to leave prison in less than a year and must be released in less than 3½ years.

Latto’s parents didn’t think the sentence was long enough.

Brooke Latto uttered a profanity after the judge’s ruling.

And Brad Latto added: “I don’t think it’s fitting at all.”

Beaverson, now 22, initially was charged with second-degree murder. In March, he pleaded no contest to amended charges of manslaughter and possession of a stolen firearm. In exchange for the deal, prosecutors also dropped two additional gun and drug charges.

Beaverson had faced a maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge. Burns gave him 5 to 10 years on the manslaughter charge and 2 to 4 years on the gun charge, but he ruled that the sentences would run at the same time. That meant Beaverson will serve 2½ to 5 years, following state law that generally cuts sentencings in half. Beaverson already had spent 586 days in jail counting toward that time.

Evan Latto

Abbi Romshek, an assistant Douglas County public defender, said Beaverson called Latto a friend and a cousin and would give him food, a phone charger or money for a hotel room when needed.

Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts

But Beaverson lacked the maturity to make good decisions, Romshek argued, because of how young adults’ brains develop, meaning Beaverson had difficulty saying no and thinking through the long-term consequences of his actions.

A friend had asked Beaverson to hold the gun because the friend’s mother wanted it out of the house, Romshek said. In addition, Beaverson had addiction issues and faced related drug charges — just a week before Latto’s death, he had pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. Two days before, he’d had a hearing in adult drug court.

After Latto died, Romshek said, Beaverson couldn’t sleep or eat in jail and was “overwhelmed by flashbacks.”

“He’s already created a psychological prison for himself,” Romshek said. “Peace is not found in punishing others.”

At that, Brooke Latto shook her head.

She told the judge that while she acknowledged Latto shouldn’t have been at the party, she said the shooting wasn’t an accident.

“When you take a loaded gun and you pull it, that’s intent,” she said. “He took away my future, my everything. ... His family gets to have him come home. I don’t.”

Shawn Hagerty, a Douglas County prosecutor, asked for a sentence closer to the maximum because of Beaverson’s inability to accept that he had made decisions that led to Latto’s death — he continued to use drugs, he took possession of a firearm, he brought it to a party and he pulled the trigger.

“He doesn’t acknowledge that this was something that was in his control,” Hagerty said. “His choices resulted in someone’s death, and there’s no more serious outcome than taking someone’s life.”

The case is similar to a March incident involving a local teen who fatally shot his friend, except in that case officials have said alcohol instead of drugs was involved.

Blake Miller, 18, faces a manslaughter charge in connection with the March 12 death of his friend Tanner Farrell, 18. Miller was scheduled to appear in court this coming Monday, but waived that preliminary hearing Thursday and will be scheduled for trial.

Police looking for man who fired gun in north Lincoln
Lincoln to pay $110,000 for external review of police department's culture
Hoskins woman caught with 100 grams of meth in Lincoln, police say
Lincoln man fires shotgun at attempted catalytic converter thieves, police say

Close

BEAVERSON

Mason Beaverson

Evan Latto