Nebraska man gets 40-70 years in prison for killing convicted child molester

OMAHA (TCD) --

An Omaha man was sentenced to prison last week for shooting a convicted sex offender to death in 2020.

James Fairbanks, 44, was sentenced to 40 to 70 years in prison on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.

Mattieo Condoluci, 64, was shot seven times in his doorway on May 14, 2020, KPTM-TV reports.

Fairbanks shot Condoluci with a 9mm semiautomatic rifle, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

Fairbanks pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and a gun charge in April 2021.

Fairbanks had claimed self-defense, telling authorities he had gone to Condoluci’s house to warn him to stay away from children, the World-Herald reports, and said Condoluci charged at him. Condoluci was shot three times in the front of his torso, three times in his back, and once in his temple.

Condoluci was convicted of child molestation in Florida in 1994, and again in 2007 in Sarpy County, Neb., according to the World-Herald.

The Douglas County prosecutor said Condoluci also had a history as an enforcer in motorcycle gangs in addition to the child-molestation convictions, saying he was “not the most sympathetic victim.”

Fairbanks must serve 20 years before he’s eligible for parole, the World-Herald reports.

Authorities say Fairbanks didn’t know Condoluci, but had found him in an internet search for registered sex offenders, according to KPTM, quoting the Associated Press.

Fairbanks also argued that he confronted Condoluci because he saw a play set in the backyard, KMTV-TV reports. Joseph Condoluci, Mattieo Condoluci's adult son, told the court he had set up the play set for his own child.

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