Lincoln teen sentenced in 2021 shooting near Edgewood Shopping Center

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A Lincoln teen connected to a 2021 shooting near the Edgewood Shopping Center was sentenced Monday in federal court.

Buongkhoy Wal, 19, pled guilty to discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 13 years in prison as well as a five-year term of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

The sentencing stems from an August 2021 shooting near the Edgewood Theaters and Target near 56th and Nebraska Pkwy that left Jayden Prentice and Christopher Duncan injured. The two each spent a month in the hospital being treated for their injuries.

Investigators found that a group of people, including Wal and Xavier Gary, arranged to purchase a half-pound of marijuana from Prentice, Duncan, and Riley Mills. The planned purchase was instead a ruse for a robbery.

The U.S. Attorney said during the drug purchase, Wal and an unknown person were counting the money in Duncan’s vehicle when the unknown person shot Prentice in the face. Mills and the unknown person were fighting over the gun when several more gunshots were heard being fired just outside the car.

Wal, the unknown person, and the others in their group fled the scene and dropped a .45 caliber handgun.

According to Ballistics reports, the .45 caliber handgun was used to shoot Prentice, and it fired at least one of the shots that struck Duncan. A DNA profile also found a mixture of DNA from three people, with Wal and Gary both being contributors.

Gary pleaded guilty to attempted possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, on March 21, 2023. 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 more than 7.5 years in prison followed by a three-year term of supervised release. On July 6, 2022, Prentice was sentenced to six years in prison and a three-year term of supervised release.

Duncan is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 7.