On Tuesday, an Omaha man accused of being an accomplice in a downtown Lincoln homicide in 2024 had his charges upgraded in Lancaster County Court.
A judge dismissed one charge and upgraded three others against Gregory Bahati, 30, to first-degree murder, second-degree assault, and felony use of a firearm.
Bahati was initially charged with first-degree murder, felony firearm use, and two counts of second-degree assault.
According to Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, the change occurred without the submission of any new evidence in the case. The upgraded charges, while more severe in appearance, carry the same felony classes and sentences as Bahati’s previous ones.
The change allows prosecutors to prove only the murder, not Bahati’s role as an accomplice.
However, one class 1C felony was dropped in the change, while another class 2A was elevated to class 1C. The change essentially dropped Bahati’s class 2A felony, potentially reducing any future sentences by 20 years.
On September 8, 2024, officers responded to fights outside a bar near 11th and O streets, and discovered two men with gunshot wounds.
Kavion Wright, 23, Saiveon Hopkins, 24, and Bahati were present but did not actively participate in the fights, according to police.
According to LPD, while Bahati was minorly involved in one fight, he turned to the other two and told them to “shoot him” while pointing to Hopkins. Wright is accused of shooting two times, striking Hopkins and a 40-year-old Lincoln man before fleeing the scene in a black Honda Pilot.
Hopkins died in the hospital several hours later, while the second victim survived.
Police were able to obtain security video showing Wright leaving his home in Omaha a few hours before the shooting and returning in the same black Honda Pilot seen fleeing the scene.
Authorities later issued arrest and search warrants for both men’s homes in Omaha.
While carrying out the search warrants, authorities discovered two handguns and a rifle.