An 18-year-old is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly took a gun off an apartment countertop during a party, posed for a photo with it, and then threatened the weapon's owner and his friends to leave. Police say the confrontation didn't end there — the group was followed as they drove away, and the stolen gun ended up tossed from a moving vehicle near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before officers recovered it.
Lincoln police were called to an apartment near North 23rd and Y streets on a report of a stolen firearm, according to 1011now.com. Court records say Keak Minydet reportedly stole the firearm while visiting the apartment during a party there. The gun's owner had brought the weapon inside and set it down on the countertop before Minydet allegedly grabbed it.
Owner Says He Returned to Find Minydet Holding His Gun
According to the police report cited by the station, the firearm's owner came back and saw Minydet holding the gun. Minydet allegedly had the owner snap a photo of him posing with the weapon, and then threatened the owner and his friends, telling them to leave, per the report. The group did leave — but the ordeal wasn't over once they got in the car.
As they drove off, the group noticed a vehicle following them. Near South 16th and R streets, an unknown man approached the passenger side of their vehicle and punched the window, the outlet's account states. Somewhere in the chaos, the gun owner realized he still had Minydet's gun in his possession.
Gun Tossed Near Greek Row, Later Recovered
The gun owner then threw Minydet's gun out of the vehicle window near UNL's Greek Row, and the firearm was later recovered by police, the same report notes. The sequence of events — the owner realizing he still had Minydet's gun and throwing it from the vehicle — left investigators piecing together a chaotic night that started with a party and ended with police recovering a firearm blocks from campus.
Minydet was arrested and charged with two counts of robbery, one count of terroristic threats, one count of use of a firearm to commit a felony, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a juvenile offender. His bond was set at 10% of $150,000, and his next court date is scheduled for Dec. 3.
What Nebraska Law Says About the Charges
Under Nebraska law, a firearm does not need to be operable for a defendant to be found guilty of using a deadly weapon to commit a felony, according to the Nebraska Legislature's statute on the offense. Separately, Nebraska's statute on firearm possession by a prohibited juvenile offender bars a person under 25 from knowingly possessing a firearm if they were previously adjudicated an offender in juvenile court for an act that would constitute a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, per the Nebraska Legislature.
A Second Party Pistol-Whipping Days Earlier
The incident comes just days after another Lincoln party turned violent. Around 11 p.m. on Oct. 24, Lincoln police officers responded to reports of a party near North 23rd and Orchard streets, according to KLKN. Police reports said an unknown man pistol-whipped a 22-year-old at that party and stole the victim's firearm, and the victim went to the hospital for a large laceration that required stitches, the station reported.
