Lincoln woman tells how drive-by shooting turned ‘normal Tuesday night’ into nightmare

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Lincoln’s Jessica DeGarmo recounted the scariest moment of her life on Friday.

“Normal Tuesday night,” she said. “Sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal and watching NCIS.”

Her rest and relaxation were suddenly shattered by gunshots earlier this week.

DeGarmo and her boyfriend first thought it was firecrackers.

When they saw bullet holes, her boyfriend threw her to the floor for cover.

“I reached back and felt blood,” she said. “And I told him I was shot.”

SEE ALSO: Man arrested after shooting woman in south Lincoln, police say

DeGarmo said she was in shock and didn’t know what to think.

More than a dozen shots were fired into their apartment near 40th Street and Old Cheney Road.

It was the second time that duplex has been shot at in just six months.

SEE ALSO: ‘It could’ve been our house’: Neighbors worry after drive-by shooting in south Lincoln

DeGarmo was shot in the backside, with her boyfriend tending to the wound until she could be taken to the hospital.

“Grateful that it wasn’t worse than what it was,” she said. “Angry that it happened in the first place. I mean, I have kids. They could be without a mom right now.”

The bullet is still lodged inside her hip.

The road to recovery is currently marked by tremendous pain and nightmares for the 42-year-old, who is self-employed.

“I clean houses for a living; I don’t have health insurance,” DeGarmo said. “I had to make a decision between surviving and keeping my home or having the bullet removed.”

The suspect — 32-year-old Zachary Skeahan of Alvo — is a former co-worker of her boyfriend’s.

Despite her pain and anger, DeGarmo’s compassion showed through as she looked for a silver lining.

“I’m hoping he gets the help he needs,” she said. “But I also hope he doesn’t get out of jail for a very long time.”

Skeahan is being held on a $500,000 bond. He is due back in court on May 29.

The sudden, life-altering actions of one man are now a turning point for DeGarmo.

“I’m more motivated to do the things I’ve been planning for a long time, like going back to school and stuff that I didn’t think I have time for before,” she said. “And now it’s like, time’s short and you never know what’s going to happen.”