Omaha man sentenced to prison for killing 19-year-old woman

Omaha World-Herald
Jun 2, 2023

An Omaha man was sentenced this week to 19 to 20 years in prison for manslaughter related to a fatal shooting in July 2021.

Davelle Giles, 27, was sentenced Tuesday for his role in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Jazsmine Washington. Giles was returning fire after multiple people shot into a large crowd when one of the bullets he fired hit and killed Washington.

Giles

In the early hours of July 4, 2021, a large crowd gathered in a parking lot near a North Omaha bar at 24th and Grant streets. About 3:17 a.m., at least two people — who have not been identified — began shooting into the crowd from a nearby alleyway.

As people scattered and ran for cover from the gunshots, Giles returned fire. At least one of the bullets from his Glock 21 handgun struck Washington, who was shot twice in her right arm and once, fatally, in her rib cage.

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Washington was taken to the hospital with CPR in progress, but she died shortly after arriving. Four other people were injured in the exchange of gunfire.

Giles was arrested a few weeks later on July 20, 2021, after officers pulled him over for driving while under suspension and without a front license plate. He was taken to jail, and by listening to jail phone calls, officers learned of another car that Giles sometimes drove.

Officers searched the car and found a .45-caliber Glock 21 handgun in the back pocket of the front passenger seat. Ballistics testing confirmed that a bullet recovered from Washington's body was fired from Giles' gun.

Giles was initially charged with second-degree murder, defined as a killing that is intentional but not premeditated, and use of a firearm to commit a felony. In a plea deal reached in March, those charges were dismissed in exchange for Giles pleading no contest to manslaughter.

Douglas County District Court Judge Kimberly Pankonin sentenced Giles on Tuesday to 19 to 20 years in prison with 470 days of credit for time served.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska

Dangerous Cities in Nebraska

See how your hometown ranks among the most dangerous cities in Nebraska. Ratings have been determined according to the number of violent crimes per 1,000 people in cities of at least 10,000, with violent crime being classified as murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The numbers are for 2019, the most recent year for which the FBI provides data.

6. South Sioux City

With 30 violent crimes in 2019 and a population of 12,771 (the smallest on our list), the city in northeast Nebraska had 2.35 violent crimes per 1,000 people.

Photo: An RV park in South Sioux City on the Missouri River.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

5. Scottsbluff

The city of 15,862 had 53 violent crimes for a rate of 3.34 per 1,000 in 2019.

Photo: Gering Police Officer Jordan McBride talks with Scottsbluff Police Officer Michael Modeac as he puts up crime scene tape at the scene of an armed standoff in Scottsbluff in June 2021.

STAR-HERALD FILE PHOTO

4. North Platte

With a population of 23,705 and 89 violent crimes, the city had a rate of 3.75 per 1,000.

Photo: Union Pacific train engines line up outside a service building in North Platte.

FILE PHOTO

3. Lincoln

The Star City had a population of 291,128 with 1,115 violent crimes, a rate of 3.83 per 1,000.

Photo: Police in Lincoln investigate a shooting near the intersection of 14th and E streets in August 2019.

JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO

2. Grand Island

With a population of 51,821 and 236 violent crimes, the largest of the Tri Cities had a 2019 rate of 4.55 per 1,000 people.

Photo: Grand Island police and State Patrol personnel investigate after a body was found in a Grand Island yard in August 2020.

GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO

1. Omaha

In 2019, the state's largest city at 470,481 people had 2,833 violent crimes for a rate of 6.13 per 1,000.

Photo: Omaha police and University Police guard the entrance to the Nebraska Medicine Emergency room after an Omaha police officer was shot at Westroads Mall in March 2021.

WORLD-HERALD FILE PHOTO

Davelle Giles

Giles