In the quiet city of Kearney, Nebraska, a burst of violence on a Sunday evening in January shattered the winter calm and ended the life of Jared Shinpaugh. A White / Caucasian male, Shinpaugh was 31 years old at the time of his death on January 16, 2022. The events of that night unfolded in the 800 block of West 23rd Street, where gunshots rang out around 8:38 p.m.
Witnesses reported seeing several individuals flee the scene in a car shortly after the shots were fired.
Following the incident, Shinpaugh, along with 29-year-old Joseph Garcia, were dropped off at a Kearney hospital by a private vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds. While Garcia was treated for his injuries and later released, Shinpaugh succumbed to his wounds and died at the hospital. The investigation into the shooting revealed a complex situation involving an attempted robbery that had apparently gone wrong, with large amounts of drugs present at the scene. It was also later discovered that an 18-year-old resident, Joshua Morris of Kearney, had also been shot during the attempted robbery.
The investigation led to a series of arrests and charges. Zachary Walker, a 20-year-old from Kearney, was one of several suspects arrested in connection with the case; he was ultimately sentenced to four to eight years in prison on related weapons charges. Others involved faced legal consequences as well, including Joshua Morris and 19-year-old Mariah Chamberlin, who both received probation for drug convictions. Joseph Garcia, the other man injured in the shooting, was prosecuted on federal weapons charges, and a woman named Chenoa Lemburg was also arrested on charges of attempted robbery.
A primary suspect, Romeo Chambers, 24, of Omaha, was identified, and a felony arrest warrant was issued for him in March 2022 on multiple charges, including second-degree murder. For nearly two years, Chambers remained at large. Law enforcement's persistent search finally led to his capture on January 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was arrested for trespassing. At the time of his arrest, Chambers was also wanted in connection with another shooting and attempted murder in Denver. He was held in custody in Arizona, awaiting extradition to Buffalo County, Nebraska, to face the charges related to the death of Jared Shinpaugh.
