A case against a Lawrence man accused of stabbing a 15-year-old in a city park has been dismissed, after the victim wouldn’t cooperate and didn’t show up to court, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said Thursday.
Branson said his office filed a new charge of felony aggravated battery against the suspect, Clayton Cumpton, 21, for allegedly hitting another 16-year-old victim.
Police arrested Cumpton on April 5 after a fight between two groups of people in Hobbs Park, near 11th and Delaware streets.
Cumpton was arraigned on the new charge June 23 and a jury trial has been scheduled for Sept. 9. He was released from jail June 11 on $5,000 bond.
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woodenfleaeater (anonymous) says…
Real tough guy. Stabbing a 15 year old and punching a 16 year old. What's next. Is this guy going to take on some senior citizens?
urthatguy66044 (anonymous) says…
I would be interested in learning what the fight was about, with some of these cocky kids today some of them deserve to be slapped around a bit... Stabbed no, but taught a lesson perhaps...!
grammaddy (anonymous) says…
It doesn't matter, This kid has been out of control for a long time!!
woodenfleaeater (anonymous) says…
grammaddy, which kid are you referring to, the 21 year old?
lristh1230 (anonymous) says…
Thugs
gsxr600 (anonymous) says…
It seems if you look at somebody the wrong way these days you're bound to be stabbed.
H_Lecter (anonymous) says…
I had an English teacher in 7th grade tell me that one of the saddest things she witnessed was the loss of imagination as children go through school. She was right. How much imagination goes into poking someone with a knife blade?
You never hear that a victim was found alive and dangling from a tree, but they had lost a leg after it was forced into a wood chipper.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
wonder if Cumpton is offspring of Jimmy Cumpton. he was real trouble in lawrence in the '80s.
kudos to the DA, *for a change!* according to one report they had to drop the charge regarding stabbing the 15-year-old because the punk 15-year-old wasn't cooperating as a witness. either "ditch the snitch" mentality, or the 15YO has been threatened.
hope this charge sticks. put the perp away for a long time. let him play with the big boys in the bighouse.
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
>>> "Battery charge filed in park fight"
Is that a 'D' felony or a 'AAA' misdemeanor?
How revolting.
Now back to more current events.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
well Nota,
it depends on the charger. but, you know, either way, he gets a cell. but let's not be too negative about this. hope the paper keeps us current on this, whether it goes to a local or a circuit judge, etc.
grammaddy (anonymous) says…
woodenfleater--That's the one. I knew the kid when he was still a juvenile and he was out of control then. I'm surprised it has taken him this long to get his name in the paper. His family always tried to protect him from himself instead of making him face the consequences of his actions. He's an adult now so hopefully parental protection is no longer an option.
mouselynnd69 (anonymous) says…
Yes, Clayton is the son of Jimmy Cumpton!
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
Yes, Clayton is the son of Jimmy Cumpton!
the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.
HMcMellon (anonymous) says…
Let's review what has been reported so far. Shortly after he is out on parole for serving only a small part of his sentence for a felony conviction, this adult thug, who for some weird reason hangs out with teens and preteens, sucker punches an unsuspecting 16 year old and then beats him unconscious before the boy even has a chance to fight back. Then, according to many witnesses, while the boy is still unconscious, the thug continues to kick the boy's head until someone finally pulls him off. That boy has to go to the emergency room and go through painful and expensive reconstructive surgery to restore his face.
Then the next night, this same criminal thug stabs a 15 year old five times with one wound entering his body only an inch from the boy's heart. Again, there are many witnesses but they are not called. It is rumored that the stabbed boy's father has issues about the way the DA's office handled the case and about the prejudicial way that he has been treated. According to the Journal-World, the father and his son are now considered "uncooperative."
One of the issues the stabbed boy's father may have with the DA's office is that they set a measly $5,000 bond for two attempted murders on two consecutive nights by a convicted criminal who was out on parole. Even worse, now that the bond has been paid, the judge is leaving this dangerous criminal thug out on bond as if there were no issue about his violating parole in the first place. Now, this vicious and dangerous sociopath is walking our streets and is still hanging out with junior high kids. Will your kid be the next victim? If so, let us pray that he survives the attack.
It seems obvious that this thug and/or his father must have some kind of inside and/or preferential connections with the DA's office to get off with such a low bond and with nothing being done about his breaking parole. It also appears that the father of the boy who was stabbed does not have those kinds of connections. What a travesty! From all outward appearances, it appears we have a very unprofessional, prejudiced, irrational and incompetent staff at our DA's office.
Ljames (anonymous) says…
gnome
He is the son of Robert cumpton jimmy is his uncle.
A lot of the problem is that mom and stepdad didn't provide any supervision or conquences for his actions.
They just let him run the streets. Now you see the results.