Three men received probation for an incident in which a 19-year-old man was held, beaten and robbed inside an eastern Lawrence home.
A Douglas County judge sentenced Jack Proctor, Nick Varner and Eli Woodman to two years of probation.
The three 21-year-old Lawrence men were convicted of aggravated assault and aggravated battery for holding the man at gunpoint in January inside a house in the 1300 block of Pennsylvania.
They originally faced more severe charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.
All three were facing prison time, but the judge ruled that because the defendants did not have any criminal history, it was in the public’s best interest to instead place them on probation.
Comments
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skinny (Richard Johnson) says…
Class A felony and they get two years probation!
What a JOKE!
It is pretty bad when other states send you to prison for 35 years for kidnapping and here in Douglas County Kansas you get two years probation.
srj (anonymous) says…
Wow! The guy holding the gun should at least face jail time.
Danimal (anonymous) says…
You know, I don't care if they have a criminal history or not, at the point that they are willing to beat and kidnap someone at gunpoint they need some time out. These aren't shoplifters or non-violent offenders, these guys have shown they have the capacity for violence and need to be punished. Guaranteed these guys end up in jail for a parole violation (or worse) within the next few years.
lawthing (anonymous) says…
Maybe they are just too busy handing down all the prison time and harsh sentances on the Yellow House owners!
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
"...A Douglas County judge sentenced Jack Proctor, Nick Varner and Eli Woodman to two years of probation."
"...but the judge ruled..."
LJW - Does "the judge" have a name? Possibly one that we can remember on the next retention vote.
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
Possibly, this will answer some questions, while raising others.
From LJW:
By George Diepenbrock
February 26, 2009
"Malone is scheduled to sentence the three defendants March 27. Cheryl Wright, a spokeswoman for Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson, said because a gun was used during the crime, it’s presumed the defendants will be sentenced to prison. All three men remained in custody Thursday."
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/feb...
skinny (Richard Johnson) says…
The LJWorld isn't publishing the Judges names now!
Can't wait till we get a real newpaper in this town that prints the local news.
lawthing (anonymous) says…
ITs always about the cover-up!
whatifeelfyi (anonymous) says…
In response to Skinny not everyone gets that lucky even with the same judge. It depends on who you are and who you know. My question is who was their attorney's whether court appointed or paid for they sure did a great job!
lawthing (anonymous) says…
yes whatifeeify,
My question would be, Where they white boys who kidnapped a black dude?
ebyrdstarr (anonymous) says…
Skinny, there's no such thing as a Class A felony. Aggravated assault is a level 7 felony. The most serious grid offenses are level 1, the lowest are level 10. With no criminal history, people convicted of aggravated assault would be presumptive probation in most cases. The use of a gun changes that and makes it presumptive prison. But probation for a level 7 offense with no criminal history is a pretty normal sentence.
whatifeelfyi (anonymous) says…
It is in the public's best interest that kidnapper's with guns are put on probation? Three 21 year olds with guns against a 19 year old? Something is very wrong here.
Woodduck_5363 (anonymous) says…
Only in Lawrence. Was it a black man they held ??????
lionheart72661 (anonymous) says…
Woodduck_5363 (Anonymous) says…
Only in Lawrence. Was it a black man they held ??????
Why the race card again "please stop" this is really getting old. Woodduck were in the 21St century not the 1960's.
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
Where are the "I know these fine young upstanding decent gentlemen" who "don't deserve your unfair remarks" if "you knew them" you "would love them with all your heart" this will "follow them the rest of their lives" you "can't know the shame they feel" crowd on this one?
jeffds01 (anonymous) says…
two years of probation for holding someone at gunpoint.
very interesting, i guess we can all get away with anything, atleast once.
lawrence courts give me a break, punish law breaker, anyone treating someone with a gun should do automatic jail time no questions asked
grammaddy (anonymous) says…
Charges reduced from agg. robbery and agg. kidnapping to aggravated assault and battery. A gun was involved! I guess justice is blind deaf and downright stupid in Douglas County.
Just because they had no previous record is no excuse. Starting out with a gun should have gotten them a little time anyway.
lawthing (anonymous) says…
Somebody knows these "fine young men"..
.Yep I would guess they are definately white..and the kidnapped victim was black
Race card or not!
lawthing (anonymous) says…
And if I remember right, isnt one of the owners of Yellow House black?
hsiwlaln (anonymous) says…
You asked where we were, so here I am. I can assure you that with the level 7 felonies these men received, as well as the sixty-eight days they spent in jail, two years of strict community corrections, large amount of restitution, and the fact that they must register as violent offenders, they have learned their lesson. They DO feel a great deal of remorse for what they did, and they ARE good people. Lucky for them, mike malone saw that and gave them a chance to prove themselves. As the Lawrence community, you should follow suit.
geniusmannumber1 (anonymous) says…
ebyrdstarr appears to be the only one on this board who knows what he/she's talking about. Most of the others are having trouble reading. Or racists. Or idiot Yellow House apologists. Or a combination thereof.
hav2say (anonymous) says…
Obviously no one who is commenting knows anything about this case except for what they've read in a few paragraphs in the paper. #1 NO the "victim" was not black...what would make anyone assume that? The kidnapping and robbery charges were dropped because upon investigation it was realized that there WAS NO kidnapping or robbery involved. All three of these boys have proven themselves immensely throughout their incarceration, one of them moved up to trustee, one received work release, they all had more visitors than Douglas County jail has ever seen. Their attorneys were flooded with character reference letters and testimony. I was at every one of their court dates, and I didn't HAVE to be, as were about 50 other people who were supporting them from their hometown and from Lawrence. People drove 2 hours to be there for them, because they knew they were not criminals. The judge and attornies also commented on the fact that they had NEVER seen so much support for people being accused of a crime. I believe the word the judge used was "anomaly" (1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form. 3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc. 4. an incongruity or inconsistency) In other words, he realized that this was an isolated case that will never be repeated. They made a horrible mistake, they did a very bad thing, but they aren't criminals and they are all very remorseful of their deed. It was so far out of character, that THEY are still in disbelief of their actions. I'm so thankful to Judge Malone that he could see their true characters and give them all a 2nd chance, they truly deserve it. I'm sorry you all have to rely on a paragraph in a newspaper to form your opinions, because that's just not enough. Why do people judge when they don't even know a portion of the story, I really don't think they're qualified to do so.
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
hav2say (Anonymous) says…
"...People drove 2 hours to be there for them, because they knew they were not criminals. ... They made a horrible mistake, they did a very bad thing, but they aren't criminals ..."
You are wrong, hav2say. "The three 21-year-old Lawrence men were convicted of aggravated assault and aggravated battery for holding the man at gunpoint ..."
This may be an isolated incident. They obviously have a lot of community support. However, they are convicted criminals. Moreover, unless they are allowed to have their records expunged in the future, they will always be convicted criminals.
hav2say (anonymous) says…
Yes, Did_I_say_that, they ARE in fact convicted criminals. They did commit a criminal act. How clever of you to point out the obvious. What I MEANT (and I'm pretty sure you realized what I was getting at and are just nit-picking) was that they're not, by nature, criminals. They're not bad people. They've never done anything "criminal" in the past and will never do anything "criminal" again. And yes,according to the judge, they WILL be able to have their records expunged in the future. Like I said above, thank goodness the judge could see their true characters and is giving them a chance to prove themselves.