In the early hours of May 29, 2011, Jimmy Levering, a 21-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot outside the Club Seville nightclub near 30th and Pratt Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. as a large crowd was dispersing from the club. Levering, who was known to law enforcement as a notorious gang member, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Despite his criminal history, which included being charged with first-degree murder at age 17, family members maintained that he was attempting to leave the gang lifestyle at the time of his death.
The investigation into Levering's death quickly focused on a potential suspect, Sidney Smith. Detectives believed the shooting was an act of retaliation, as Smith allegedly blamed Levering for the murder of his brother. Smith was seen confronting Levering inside the nightclub shortly before the shooting. Despite being the focus of the investigation, Sidney Smith was never formally charged in connection with Jimmy Levering's murder, and the homicide remains officially unsolved.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, tensions were high, and Levering's family initially expressed their belief that a police officer was responsible for his death. This led to a contentious altercation between Levering's cousin and police officers at the hospital. However, law enforcement officials have consistently stated that the bullet that killed Levering did not come from a police officer's firearm, and no grand jury was ever convened to investigate an officer-involved shooting. The case has been marked by a lack of cooperating witnesses, a common challenge in gang-related violence.
