Omari Braxton

Omari Braxton was a 21-year-old Black man from Rock Island, Illinois. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 11, 2024, his life was cut short by gunfire at an apartment complex. At 4:43 p.m., Rock Island Police officers responded to a report of a gunshot victim at the Maple Ridge apartments in the 3700 block of 5th Street. They found Omari in the parking lot. He was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. The county coroner later confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

The Rock Island Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division launched an immediate investigation. By that same night, authorities had identified a suspect and obtained an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Derrick B. Nephew Jr. In the early hours of Sunday, May 12, Nephew was arrested by the Davenport Police Department in Davenport, Iowa, at 2:40 a.m. on the first-degree murder warrant.

Another man, 29-year-old Steven Strickland of Davenport, was also arrested early that Sunday morning. Police stated that Strickland knowingly assisted Nephew Jr. in his attempt to evade capture after the shooting. He was accused of fleeing the scene with Nephew, crossing state lines into Iowa, and getting a hotel room for him. Strickland was charged with accessory after the fact and harassment of a public official or employee.

Derrick B. Nephew Jr. was charged with first-degree murder for Omari Braxton's death. He pleaded not guilty in 2024, and the case went to trial. In May 2025, on the fourth day of the trial, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. In September 2025, a judge sentenced Nephew to 55 years in prison.