Man arrested in Lincoln homicide was on parole; an attorney says system is ‘not science’

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A man accused of killing one person and wounding another in Lincoln on Sunday has a violent past, court documents show.

Timothy Washington, 41, was on parole when police said he fatally shot a man near downtown Lincoln, then stabbed another in north Lincoln.

He was released in December, according to Nebraska Department of Correctional Services records.

“Unfortunately, this is not science; this is a human system,” said Mallory Hughes, an attorney at Berry Law. “The best that judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys can do is look at the totality of the circumstances.”

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Washington was serving time for a robbery, an assault and a vehicle theft in Lincoln.

The assault happened in June 2020, according to court documents.

Washington asked a man for a ride to his apartment and then forced him inside at knifepoint, an arrest affidavit says.

He took off the victim’s glasses and put something over his head so he couldn’t see, police said.

Eventually, Washington forced the man to drive him to an ATM to get money out of the victim’s account, but the withdrawal was unsuccessful.

He then told the victim to take him to his apartment, but the man drove him somewhere else and was able to escape.

Washington was initially charged with robbery, a felony. But under a plea deal, the charge was reduced to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

He got one year behind bars in that case.

Then in August 2021, he stole a vehicle. It was valued at less than $1,500, so Washington was only charged with a misdemeanor.

He also got one year in that case.

Finally in September 2021, Washington robbed the D’Leon’s at 27th and Randolph streets.

Police said he had his hand in his pocket while making motions to the employees and demanding money.

The workers got out while Washington was distracted, and he then stole money from the cash register, according to an affidavit.

He was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison.

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Hughes said there are many factors that play into letting a criminal like Washington out on parole.

“They’re looking at what their conduct is like during their term of incarceration, they’re looking at remorsefulness, acceptance of responsibility, things like that,” she said. “Even for violent offenders, if they meet some certain criteria, they’re going to get released. Even if they don’t get released on parole, there’s going to be a jam date, or a date where they have to be released. So his sentence was limited in scope to some degree.”

Hughes said the system is not always perfect, and in this case, the parole board made the decision it thought was best.

She told Channel 8 that ultimately, the only person in the wrong is Washington.

“That’s what makes situations like this really hard. It’s incredibly tragic,” she said. “You look at the history and you think, ‘How on earth did people let this happen?’ But it doesn’t mean anyone did anything wrong to get to this point, other than the man who killed someone.”