photo by: Contributed photo

Lawrence police officers are pictured outside 2013 W. 27th Terrace, the scene of a fatal shooting shortly before 10 p.m. Sept. 19, 2017.

A 21-year-old Lawrence man who admitted to police that he shot an unwanted visitor in the face in his doorway is set to go on trial for murder in August.

On Tuesday in Douglas County District Court, Judge Kay Huff scheduled a weeklong murder trial for Steven A. Drake III to begin Aug. 20.

That’s approaching a year from when the fatal shooting occurred. Huff told attorneys it was important to handle numerous pretrial motions expected from the defense and ensuing hearings with no delays.

“I really do want to keep this August date,” Huff said. “Consider that a hard date.”

Drake is charged with one count of first-degree murder, a felony.

The shooting happened about 9:45 p.m. Sept. 19, 2017, at Drake’s home, a duplex in the 2000 block of West 27th Terrace.

Bryce Holladay, 26, a Lawrence resident whom Drake and others living in the home knew, had come in and was rummaging through items in the house and saying things that didn’t make sense, according to witness testimony and video of Drake’s police interview shown at the preliminary hearing.

Holladay reportedly refused to leave after being asked repeatedly, and things escalated. After four of the residents tried unsuccessfully to physically force Holladay out the door — including pepper-spraying him — Drake retrieved a gun from a bedroom and shot Holladay in the face at close range, according to testimony.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Steven A. Drake

Drake’s appointed attorney, Angela Keck, previously argued that Drake shouldn’t be prosecuted for a crime because he was acting in defense of himself and others.

Huff rejected that argument. Among other evidence she said should be weighed by a jury, Huff cited two text messages Drake sent to friends threatening to shoot Holladay before he actually got the gun.

Drake also is charged in an unrelated aggravated battery case stemming from a fight that seriously injured a teen in July 2017. That case remains pending.