Man ordered to stand trial on robbery, kidnapping charges

A 41-year-old man, accused of robbing and kidnapping a Lawrence woman in February 2008, was ordered Monday morning to stand trial, Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny said.

Donald Bartsma is accused of approaching the 24-year-old victim in the parking lot of Kohl’s, 3234 Iowa, forcing her into her car at knifepoint, then driving her to a bank at 27th and Iowa streets and forcing her to withdraw money, according to police. The victim was not harmed during the incident, which occurred Feb. 13, 2008.

Bartsma will appear back in court for an April 27 arraignment hearing, Pokorny said after Monday’s preliminary hearing. He’s charged with two felony counts of kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

The suspect was convicted in Missouri for a similar crime, just hours after the Lawrence incident, for trying to rob a woman in a Kansas City, Mo., shopping center parking lot, then leading police on a high-speed chase. He received a 25-year prison sentence there, according to Missouri prison records.

He faces 41 years in Kansas prison if convicted of the Douglas County charges, a judge has said.