Do you know who murdered Xavier Bass? Xavier Bass, 21, a Black male from Omaha, was riding in an SUV early Sunday afternoon when gunfire reached him on U.S. Highway 75 near the Hamilton Street exit on November 5, 2017. Around 12:45 p.m., another vehicle pulled alongside as both traveled southbound and someone opened fire, striking Bass and wounding his 24-year-old companion, Marcus Eiland. Investigators said the shooting did not appear to be road rage.
In the days that followed, police released images and a description of a suspect vehicle a mid-1990s Chevy Suburban or Tahoe with running boards and an aftermarket paint job as the family held a prayer walk and pleaded for answers.
For years the case remained unsolved, even as relatives spoke publicly about the young man they had just celebrated turning 21, asking witnesses to come forward. The investigation continued in the background while memorials marked his name and the surviving victim recovered from non-life-threatening injuries.
A breakthrough came nearly seven years later. On May 13, 2024, Omaha police named 32-year-old Wilbert Smith as a suspect and issued a first-degree murder warrant; authorities noted he was already incarcerated in Lincoln on unrelated drug convictions. About a month later, on June 18, 2024, Smith was arrested and booked on charges that included first-degree murder, use of a gun to commit a felony, first-degree felony assault, and discharging a gun at a vehicle.
The case went to trial the following winter. On December 9, 2024, a jury found Smith guilty in the killing of Bass, closing a critical chapter in a long-cold investigation. On February 21, 2025, a judge sentenced Smith to life in prison. For Bass s family, the verdict and sentence arrived years after that sudden eruption of highway gunfire that stole a promising life in broad daylight.
