Lincoln Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Marijuana Charge Involving a Shooting

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Xavier Lloyd Gary, 19, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on June 29, 2023 by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a 30-month term of imprisonment for attempted possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. After he completes his prison sentence, Gary will serve a two-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

On August 2, 2021, Lincoln police responded to reports of a shooting occurring near the Edgewood Theaters and Target on the south side of Lincoln. Jayden Prentice, Christopher Duncan, and Riley Mills were present when police arrived. Duncan and Prentice had suffered gunshot wounds. First responders resuscitated Duncan using CPR. They were transported to the hospital. Duncan and Prentice each spent a month in the hospital being treated for their wounds, and Duncan had to have one of his legs amputated. The investigation would later reveal that a group of people, including Gary and Buongkhoy Wal, arranged to purchase a half-pound of marijuana from Prentice, Duncan, and Mills. The planned purchase was a ruse for a robbery. Gary’s car was used in the offense and Gary drove to and from the scene. Gary was not one of the persons who discharged a firearm.

Buongkhoy Wal pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking offense on March 21, 2023, and he is scheduled for sentencing on July 31, 2023. He faces a prison sentence of at least ten years.

Prentice, Duncan, and Mills each pleaded guilty to offenses involving the possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. On June 24, 2022, Mills was sentenced to a 92-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Prentice was sentenced on July 6, 2022, to a 72-month term of imprisonment, and a three-year term of supervised release. Duncan is scheduled for sentencing on July 17, 2023.

The investigation was conducted by the Lincoln Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.