CUSTER TRIAL: Custer guilty of first degree murder

Jason Custer, 35, was convicted of first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon in Cheyenne County district court Friday following a week-long trial.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for around five hours before determining Custer’s guilt in the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Adam McCormick just after midnight on Nov. 3, 2012 over a debt of $150.

The victim’s family found significance in the fact that the verdict came in on McCormick’s son’s birthday.

“This is what we were hoping for, to be done today,” said Alicia Whited, McCormick’s sister.

Custer moved to Sidney in early October 2012 to live with his friend Billy Fields and Fields’ girlfriend, Amber Davis. Soon after he arrived a texting feud began, reportedly over a drug debt, pitting Fields and Custer against McCormick. The fight ended when Custer shot McCormick twice while the victim was standing in a friend’s front yard.

During closing arguments Friday morning, the prosecution attempted to convince the jury that Custer arrived at Syrus Leal’s residence with the intent of killing McCormick. Conversely, the defense worked to persuade them that McCormick attacked Custer with a knife and Custer only shot the victim in self defense.

Prosecutor Michael Guinan compared the defendant’s story to the tactics he used to trick his son into believing in Santa Claus.

“It’s not real, it’s fake, it’s fiction, it’s a lie,” Guinan said.

Although Guinan conceded that some of the other witnesses in the case were probably untruthful, Custer’s version of the shooting could not be accurate, he said.

Custer claimed that he didn’t know there was a gun in Fields’ truck when he pulled up in front of Leal’s house on the night of the shooting. When he saw three people standing outside, he looked in the backseat for something to protect himself, Custer told the jury in earlier testimony.

“Miraculously there sits a weapon,” Guinan said.

The prosecutor questioned how the knife got back in McCormick’s pocket, where law enforcement found it, if it was out at the time of the shooting. It seemed unlikely that one of his friends would place it back in his pocket for him, after he was shot.

“He didn’t have a knife in his hand,” Guinan told the jury.

Custer was upset with the victim and was tired of dealing with him so he drove over and shot him, the prosecution purported. Guinan asked the jury why Custer didn’t call law enforcement if McCormick actually attempted to kill him.

“He never bothers to tell anybody he was just in this life or death struggle,” Guinan said.

The prosecution suggested to the jury that Custer received updates on McCormick’s whereabouts all night and he waited near Leal’s home for the victim to come outside. Then he pulled up with the intent to shoot McCormick, Guinan said.

During closing arguments, defense attorney James Mowbray worked to dispel some of the claims made by the prosecution. It was difficult to tell who was lying and who was telling the truth in this case, the defense said.

“We haven’t had one consistent story,” Mowbray said.

Others who testified tried to lay all the blame on Custer, he added.

“They were minimizing their involvement and maximizing his involvement,” Mowbray said.

He argued that there was no evidence Custer intended to kill anyone. Custer was fearful of McCormick because he knew the man carried a knife and had threatened Custer’s life multiple times. Only the defendant’s set of events for that night lined up with the forensic evidence, in the defense’s opinion.

“There are facts that corroborate exactly what he said,” Mowbray said.

He claimed that the steep angle of the second bullet supported his client’s story that he was jumping out of the way and to the side to dodge the victim’s knife at the time he fired. Mowbray also argued that there is no way Custer laid in wait for McCormick outside Leal’s home. The timeline just didn’t add up.

“He had no intent of using the gun,” Mowbray said.

The defense further claimed that McCormick took the knife, folded it and put it back in his pocket after being shot.

“I don’t think Adam McCormick had any clue what had happened to him, actually,” Mowbray said.

Mowbray admitted that the defendant should have called police.

“He panicked,” Mowbray said.

Custer was scared because McCormick’s behavior was erratic and he was angry, he added.

“Mr. McCormick was drunk, Mr. McCormick was high on methamphetamine, he was acting unreasonably,” Mowbray told the court.

He urged the jury to look at the evidence and forensics and to find Custer not guilty of first degree murder. The jury ultimately agreed with the prosecution.

“Thank you, Jesus,” said Donita Fredrick, McCormick’s mother.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 18 at 9 a.m. Custer faces a mandatory life sentence for the first degree murder charge, according to Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub.

Representing the prosecution in this case were Guinan and Matt Lierman, of the Nebraska Attorney General’s office, with assistance from Schaub. Representing the defense were Mowbray and Sarah Newell of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy.