A Douglas County judge ruled that a 26-year-old Lawrence man will face trial on a lesser charge in connection with a 2008 shooting.

District Judge Paula Martin ruled Friday that testimony from a preliminary hearing was insufficient to bind the defendant, Dustin D. Walker, for trial with the original charge of intentional aggravated battery.

The charges stemmed from an April 2008 shooting of Stephen Patterson in the 2500 block of Redbud Lane.

According to testimony last week, Walker told police that Patterson had a gun, charged him during an altercation in an apartment, and that the gun discharged during the struggle.

He testified he learned later that Patterson was shot in the leg.

After considering the testimony, Martin ruled that sufficient evidence existed to hold Walker for trial on a lesser charge of reckless aggravated battery.

Walker also faces a trial scheduled to begin Monday as the defendant in an unrelated shooting that occurred Dec. 5, 2010, at South Pointe Apartments, 2310 W. 26th St.