Former Omaha officer takes plea deal in arrests case
By Maggie O'Brien / World-Herald staff writer
A former Omaha police officer pleaded no contest
Wednesday to obstructing justice in last year’s arrests of three north Omaha
brothers.
James Kinsella, 32, faces up to two years in prison
when he’s sentenced in Douglas County District court in August.
On March 21, 2013, Kinsella threw away a cellphone
memory card that he believed contained video of that day’s arrests of
Octavious, Juaquez and Demetrius Johnson near 33rd and Seward Streets.
Originally, Kinsella had been charged with felony
evidence tampering, but the charge was lowered to two misdemeanors for obstruction.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said prosecutors
learned that the memory card was empty when Kinsella tossed it out his car
window. Under the termsof a plea deal, Kinsella agreed to plead no contest in
exchange for the lesser charges.
