Omaha Police: ‘Hit list’ found in home of man killed following pursuit

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha Police executing a search warrant at the home of the man shot dead following a high-speed chase over the weekend say they found a “hit list” at his residence.

OPD said in a release Thursday that the homicide unit was granted a search warrant for 41-year-old Matthew Briggs’ Papillion home. The note they found contained multiple names, including Steven “Greg” Donsbach, 52, and Briggs’ ex-girlfriends.

Briggs had been sought by police after Donsbach had been found dead in a residence on Essex Drive, near Regency Park, Saturday morning. Further investigation revealed that Briggs had been involved in incidents at two southwest Omaha homes before police found Donsbach dead.

Briggs was shot and killed Saturday on a road near Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs after a 3:30 p.m. carjacking led to a multi-agency chase that at times exceeded 100 miles per hour.

“It was bad enough the way it was, but it could’ve been even worse,” said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine. “The rage these individuals have because they don’t have power or control over the victim...if I can’t have this person, then no one’s going to.”

The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation is conducting an investigation into the officer-involved shooting in Council Bluffs.

OPD TIMELINE

Omaha Police released the following timeline of events that led to the fatal shooting of Matthew Briggs on Saturday:

5:48 a.m. - OPD officers were dispatched to a southwest Omaha residence to investigate a cutting. A woman who said she was Briggs’ ex-girlfriend reported that he had assaulted her and threatened her with a firearm. She said he had also forced entry into the residence.

6:23 a.m. - Looking for Briggs, officers were dispatched to a second southwest Omaha home belonging to another ex-girlfriend of Briggs. While en route to that residence, 911 got a call from a neighbor who had been shot at after Briggs returned to the location for a second time to ram the garage doors there with his car. “Surveillance footage shows both occurrences where Mr. Briggs damages the garages,” the report states.

6:40 a.m. - OPD was advised that Briggs had shot Steven “Greg” Donsbach at a third residence, and officers were dispatched to a home on Essex Drive.

6:45 a.m. - OPD arrived at the residence to find the front door damaged by bullets. Inside, Donsbach was found dead by apparent gunfire. Surveillance footage showed a vehicle matching the description of Briggs’ red car in the area of Donsbach’s residence.

7:46 a.m. - Briggs’ description and that of his vehicle were provided to dispatch to be re-broadcast every two hours until he was located. Meanwhile, OPD’s Homicide Unit, Fugitive Unit, Gang Unit, regional detectives, Air Support Unit, K9 Unit, and Uniform Patrol Bureau officers — along with other local law enforcement agencies — made multiple attempts to locate Briggs around the Omaha-metro area, but had no success.

1 p.m. - A citizen called 911 to report that they had seen a red Buick sedan with an unknown Iowa license plate in Mandan Park, located in south Omaha near the Missouri River, prompting a large-scale search with numerous law enforcement personnel in that area.

“The car was found still running in a grassy ravine. Under the Iowa license plates were the Nebraska license plates revealing the vehicle to belong to Mr. Briggs,” the report states.

3:32 p.m. - 911 dispatchers notified OPD that a carjacking had been reported — by a person matching Briggs’ description — in an area just south of the park, but in Sarpy County. Officers quickly located the blue Toyota Camry and declared a pursuit. ABLE-1 joined the pursuit, which eventually traveled into Iowa.

3:53 p.m. - Officers fired weapons near College Road and Valley View Drive, shooting Briggs while he was inside the stolen Camry. Briggs later died after being transported to Nebraska Medical Center. Meanwhile, police report finding a shotgun and handgun inside the stolen vehicle driven.

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