When 20-year-old Jesean Morris decided to post an “Ice Bucket Challenge” video on his Facebook page, it’s unlikely that he thought it would lead to his arrest by police officers in Omaha, Nebraska. Likely due to the viral growth of the popular “Ice Bucket Challenge” videos related to ALS Association fundraising, Morris participated in the challenge by uploading a video rather than donating $100 to the charity. After a Facebook user watched the video and recognized the location of the filming spot, a specific tip about Morris’s location was called into local police.
When the tip was called in, Morris was wanted for violating the terms of his parole according to the Smoking Gun. That “discretionary parole” was offered to Morris after being released from custody during March 2014.
Morris was previously incarcerated for his participation in a violent shootout during 2010 that left two men injured. Morris was charged and convicted of second degree assault as well as the use of a firearm to commit a felony. At the time of his original arrest in 2010, Morris was still a teenager at just 16 years of age.
According to members of the Omaha gang unit, they were given a specific address from the tipster and Morris was viewed leaving the house in order to climb into a PT Cruiser around 3 p.m. last Friday.
Shortly after Morris left the residence, the vehicle was stopped to take Morris into custody. According to the details of the arrest, Morris attempted to provide police with a fake name. After the lie about his identity failed to work, Morris allegedly spit in the face of one of the officers and kicked out the partition between the front and back seat of the police cruiser.
In addition to the charge of parole violation, Morris will also face new charges that include resisting arrest, assault of an officer, criminal mischief and suspicion of criminal impersonation. Morris is currently being held in Douglas County jail on a $40,000 bond. Of course, if Morris had simply donated $100 to the ALS Association or even lied about donating rather than dump a bucket of ice water on his head, he may have evaded police custody for a longer period of time.
