Lawrence police investigating fatal shooting of 26-year-old man on West 27th Terrace; suspect in custody
photo by: Contributed photo
Wednesday morning, police had cleared the scene of a homicide investigation at a Lawrence duplex, but signs of the violence that occurred there the previous night remained.
Pools of blood were visible on the patio outside the home at 2013 W. 27th Terrace, where a man was shot to death Tuesday night.
Police responded to the home about 9:50 p.m. and found 26-year-old Bryce Holladay, of Lawrence, fatally injured, according to a Lawrence police news release.
Another man, 20-year-old Steven A. Drake III, was questioned about the incident and arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter, according to police.
Lawrence Police Officer Drew Fennelly declined to release additional information about what happened, citing the ongoing homicide investigation.
Neighbors said police vehicles and an ambulance swarmed the area, which is southeast of the 27th and Iowa street intersection, around 10 p.m.
One neighbor said she heard a single gunshot just prior, went outside and saw paramedics attending to the wounded man outside the home’s front door. The neighbor, who did not want her name used, said Drake lived at the home.
The duplexes on the street have small courtyards around their front doors enclosed with privacy fences. In the courtyard of the home where the shooting occurred, pools of blood were visible outside the front door, with playing cards scattered around a lawn chair, a cooler and other items.
A woman and two men who said they lived at the home parked in the driveway and went inside midmorning Wednesday, but they declined to share their names or anything about the incident or the people involved.
Last fall, Drake was the driver in a fatal pickup truck crash in rural Douglas County. His passenger, 24-year-old Taylor Lister, of Lecompton, died from her injuries in the accident, which happened Nov. 5 in the 1400 block of East 700 Road. Drake also was hospitalized.
His father is Steven C. Drake Jr., who is currently in prison after being convicted of child endangerment, interfering with parental custody, assault, fleeing police and other crimes in Douglas and Jefferson counties, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. In one of those cases, the Journal-World previously reported, Steven C. Drake Jr. illegally took “Stevie” Drake, then 13, and hid him from his mother for more than a week.
It’s not clear whether or how Steven A. Drake III and Holladay knew each other.
When he died, Holladay was free on bond awaiting trial in an unrelated auto burglary and theft case, according to Douglas County District Court records.
Last week, however, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Holladay’s bond in that case. In the Sept. 13 filing, prosecutors cited Holladay’s behavior in recent months, including a June incident in which he was charged with domestic battery, resisted arrest by police officers and “appeared to be under the influence of drugs.”
Late Wednesday afternoon, charges against Drake had not been filed in court. He remained in jail.
Police urge anyone with information about the shooting to call the police department at 832-7509 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at 843-TIPS (8477).