Omaha man sentenced to time served in connection with homicide, attempted shooting

From the What you missed last week in notable Omaha crimes and court cases series

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A 33-year-old Omaha man who pleaded no contest to being an accessory to a felony in two 2019 shootings, including a homicide, was sentenced last week to time served.

Adonus Moses was found guilty and sentenced Friday in Douglas County District Court to five to eight years in prison for being the driver in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Elijah Foster on Feb. 5, 2019. He was also sentenced to five to eight years for being an accessory to the Feb. 8, 2019, attempted shooting of another man.

Judge J. Russell Derr ordered the sentences to be served at the same time. Moses was credited with serving 1,897 days in jail, just over five years. Records for the Nebraska Department of Corrections show he was released on Monday.

His release came six days after James Sawyer, 32, was sentenced by Derr to life in prison for the murder of Foster. Officials said the shooting was in retaliation for the Jan. 20, 2019, slaying of 21-year-old Jacque Holbert IV, who was Sawyer’s friend.

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Holbert associated with Sawyer of the Hillside Bloods, and Foster was a member of the 38th Street Bloods, police have said.

Foster, who was driving a Dodge Avenger, was followed from the Cubby’s convenience store at 4232 Redman Ave. by a gray Ford Focus that was driven by Moses, Omaha Police Detective Brandon Hahn testified. Several bullets were fired at Foster before the vehicles reached 47th and Ellison Avenues, where he was fatally shot.

Erica Robinson, an innocent bystander who was smoking outside her home, was hit twice but survived. One bullet struck the 20-year-old’s abdomen, Hahn said.

Foster’s vehicle was struck several times from the rear before a bullet went through the driver’s seat and entered Foster’s back. Officers recovered 27 shell casings and several projectiles consistent with the same 7.62x39 mm rifle, Hahn said. Video surveillance showed the shooter, who was found to be Sawyer, was sitting in the front passenger seat.

On Feb. 8, officers followed footprints in the snow after receiving a call about shots being fired at 39th Street and Kansas Avenue. They found Moses and Sawyer, who were arrested. Authorities also recovered an AK-47 Mini Draco pistol. Ballistics tests showed the pistol was used in the Feb. 5 and Feb. 8 shootings.

In April 2015, Moses pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the January 2014 shooting death of 5-year-old Payton Benson. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and was eligible for parole after four years.

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kevin.cole@owh.com, 402-444-1272

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