Arrest made in connection with downtown shooting

Lawrence Police detectives arrested an 18-year-old Topeka man late Wednesday in connection with a Feb. 5 after-hours shooting outside a downtown nightclub.

After more than two weeks of following leads that led them to other cities, detectives arrested Rashawn T. Anderson about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, charging him with the first-degree murder of Robert Earl Williams, who was shot and killed outside the Granada, 1020 Mass.

Earlier Wednesday, Douglas County District Court issued an arrest warrant for Anderson. The Topeka Police Department assisted in the arrest.

Anderson is now being held at Douglas County Jail on $500,000 bond. Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin said in a statement that more information would be available at a news conference this morning.

Officials at the jail said that as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, they had not started Anderson’s paperwork to set up a preliminary hearing, but said the hearing likely would happen sometime this afternoon.

No more information about the arrest was made available Wednesday.

Williams was shot around 2:15 a.m. after a hip-hop show at the Granada. Williams, 46, was killed by the gunfire while another 22-year-old victim was shot and transported to a local hospital for surgery.

After the shooting, Lawrence Police said they were having a difficult time following leads because many witnesses wouldn’t speak about the incident.

However, police did say at the time that the murder investigation likely would lead them to other cities.

It isn’t known how long the Lawrence and Topeka police had been working together, but Williams, a resident of Topeka, had friends and family there, including his widow, LaTonia Coleman, who spoke to the Journal-World after the shooting.

In an interview, she said the shooting was the result of an argument with a stranger who became involved in a family-related dispute.