KEARNEY, Neb. — A Kearney man appears to have been shot for his marijuana and his money.
Buffalo County Court records provide some details about a possible motive in a Friday morning shooting.
About 11 a.m., a Kearney man took himself to the Good Samaritan Hospital Emergency Room because he had a gunshot wound to the leg. He said two masked men entered his bedroom and shot him.
Jason Warrington, 19, of Kearney and Josh Lewis, 24, of Grand Island are suspected of being the masked men in the incident. Warrington is charged with felony robbery, using a firearm to commit a felony and accessory to a felony. Lewis is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, use of a firearm to commit a felony, felony robbery and second-degree assault.
Court records outline what police believe happened.
At 11:10 a.m. Friday, a 19-year-old Kearney man reported being awakened at his home by a knock at his bedroom door. He opened the door to see two men wearing black ski masks. One man held a handgun, and the other man held a rifle.
The suspects tied the victim's hands behind his back, then shot him in the lower right leg with the handgun.
The victim told police the robbers then took marijuana from his safe in the closet and cash from his wallet.
The victim said he recognized Warrington's voice.
The men left, and the victim took himself to the hospital. It wasn't clear how he got himself untied.
Police went to the victim's home. While they were collecting evidence from the shooting, they also located drug paraphernalia and packing materials commonly used in illegal drug distribution.
The investigation led Buffalo County Sheriff's Office investigators to a Gibbon home Warrington was known to frequent. Deputies saw a pickup leaving the home and followed it to east Kearney, where Kearney Police Department officers stopped the vehicle on East Highway 30.
Warrington and Lewis were arrested and taken to the Kearney/Buffalo County Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed.
Sheriff's investigators returned to the Gibbon home and spoke with a man who said at about 9 a.m. Friday he loaned the two men four weapons — three rifles and a handgun — to go shooting.
The men briefly returned to the home about 1 p.m. along with a woman, returned one rifle, took a replacement stock to another rifle, and left the house.
During her interview with police, the woman said earlier in the day the suspects were at her Kearney home, where she saw Warrington draw a floor plan to a house. Although she didn't know what the plan was, she knew the men were going somewhere to get marijuana.
During his interview with police, Warrington admitted knowing the victim and made statements about going to the victim's house to "score some weed."
Both Warrington and Lewis are being held at the Buffalo County Jail. Warrington must post 10 percent of $100,000, or $10,000, to be freed, while Lewis needs to post 10 percent of $500,000, or $50,000, to be freed.
The men are scheduled to appear in court later this month.
In 2010, Lewis was convicted of felony assault on a police officer in Hall County.
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