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Thunder Collins convicted of murder

By WIRE SERVICES

Story Published: Aug 24, 2009 at 6:02 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 24, 2009 at 6:02 PM PDT

Thunder Collins, a former football star at Manual Arts High School, East L.A. College and the University of Nebraska, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from a September 2008 shooting in Omaha, Neb. that left one man dead and another seriously wounded.

Collins, 29, was also found guilty of attempted second-degree murder, felony assault and two weapons counts by the Douglas County jury.

He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the first-degree murder conviction and up to 170 years on the other counts, said Deputy County Attorney John Alagaban. Sentencing is set for Nov. 12.

As he left the courtroom, Collins yelled at the jury of six men and six women,
“Are you happy? Are you happy? You know I didn’t kill anyone.”

Later during a jailhouse interview, he told reporters he thinks he was convicted because he was well known in the community.

“If I was just any other Joe Blow, I feel I would have beat this case,” he said.

Collins was arrested last September within a day of an Omaha shooting that left 38-year-old Timothy Thomas dead and another California man, Marshall Turner, seriously wounded.

Prosecutors said the shooting stemmed from a botched drug deal in which Collins masterminded a plan to rob the men.

Collins’ attorney, Steve Lefler, argued that prosecution witnesses were lying, and said Collins would appeal.

Alagaban said he believes justice was served.

“It’s an appropriate, just verdict, especially for a victim who was killed and executed basically on a garage floor,” he said.

An All-City running back at Manual Arts, Collins went on to earn All-American honors at East L.A. When he signed with Nebraska, he was seen as the next in a great line of Cornhusker tailbacks.

He played for the Cornhuskers from 2000-02, but never lived up to the hype.

His best season was 2001 when he rushed for 647 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games for the Cornhuskers.

In his final season, Collins quit the team in midseason saying he couldn’t afford to keep playing and needed to focus on taking care of a younger brother, whom he moved from Los Angeles to Nebraska to protect him from gangs. His decision to leave followed a four-game suspension for an undisclosed NCAA rules violation.

He played briefly with the Montreal Allouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2003.

Collins has had several brushes with the law, including in 2006, when he was sentenced to 10 days in jail after he pleaded no contest to obstructing an Omaha police officer. Witnesses said Collins had been involved in a shooting, and police found marijuana in his pocket.

In 2003, he was acquitted of assault and burglary charges in Corvallis, Ore., that stemmed from accusations about an alleged confrontation with an ex-girlfriend and an Oregon State football player.

In 2002, Collins pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace in Lincoln. That was part of an agreement with prosecutors to drop two assault charges connected to alleged fights with the same woman in Lincoln.

Another man is also charged in Thomas’ death. Karnell Burton, 21, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the slaying and is scheduled to stand trial in October.