712 Digital Group - top

NE man convicted in Bluffs Casino HIV attack case

News

March 12th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A jury in Pottawattamie County, Wednesday, convicted a Nebraska man on a second-degree robbery charge after he threatened to inject a woman with a syringe supposedly containing HIV infected blood if she didn’t give him money. 34-year old Jeshua Divis, of Omaha, is likely to spend at least the next seven years of his life in prison. The Daily NonPareil reports Sentencing is scheduled for May 11.

According to court documents, at around 10 a.m. on Nov. 28th of last year at Ameristar Casino, Divis sat next to the woman at a slot machine. He showed her a syringe, threatening to inject her with its contents, and demanded money. The woman said Divis also showed her a note on his phone demanding money and stating that he had accomplices. The woman didn’t have any money, and the two eventually got up and left, walking near each other for a moment. The woman said she tried to take a picture of Divis.

That evening police arrested Divis at Horseshoe Casino, where he’d been spotted on camera walking the casino floor. The Omaha man had a piece of a paper with a note demanding money and threatening to inject HIV-infused blood with a syringe.

Second-degree robbery is a Class C felony that carries a 10-year prison term. The crime is a forcible felony, meaning Divis will have to serve at least 70 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole.