A teen convicted of murdering a Navy veteran while out “hunting people” in a rival gang’s territory has launched an appeal to slash his sentence — because he is young.
Dech Gach, from Sioux City, Iowa, was 15 when he heartlessly shot dead 59-year-old Larry Thompson on the stoop of his home in North Omaha, Nebraska, in March 2021.
In March 2025, Gach was sentenced to 87 years in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until 2060.
This week, he took his case to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
His attorney argued that his client should have received a lighter sentence because of his age at the time — and called into question whether Gach even pulled the trigger.
Gach’s cellphone apparently disconnected from the Bluetooth in the vehicle his group was in before the shooting.
“No one could provide an explanation as to why a call that was made and received by the phone did not register on the vehicle,” Gach’s attorney, Jim McGough, told WOWT.
On the day of the killing, Gach and some fellow gang members drove from Sioux City to Omaha after hatching a plan to go “hunting people” in their rival gang’s territory.
Thompson, a Navy veteran, had no gang affiliation and did not know Gach or any of the other people in the car.
His daughter said at the time of the verdict that she was glad justice had been served.
Gach’s own DNA was found inside a glove with gun residue involved in Thompson’s murder, and seven shell casings discovered at the scene came from the same gun, assistant attorney general Teryn Blessin said, as she also explained the Bluetooth evidence.
“The OnStar evidence was explained at trial. It could be manually disconnected from the Bluetooth, which would explain why the call did not register with the vehicle,” Blessin said.
“All data with the vehicle stopped at 7:50, and the shooting didn’t happen until 20 minutes later,” she added.
The Nebraska Supreme Court is currently reviewing the trial transcripts and oral arguments from the appeal filed earlier this year.
A ruling is expected in mid 2026.