WRITER: Chris Conde

Defendants accused of robbing Lawrence store, duct-taping employees now face federal charges

Two people have been indicted by the U.S. District Court in Kansas in connection with an armed robbery at a Lawrence cellphone store in which the robbers allegedly bound two employees in duct tape before taking more than 80 phones from a safe. Darien Khalil Chambers, 29, was charged in Douglas County District Court with two felony counts of aggravated robbery with a handgun and two felony counts of kidnapping ...

Man pleads no contest to aggravated battery in connection with bar brawl in downtown Lawrence

A Lawrence man resolved multiple criminal cases against him Wednesday in Douglas County District Court by entering a no contest plea to aggravated battery in connection with a brawl at a bar downtown last summer. The man, Isaias Esai Rojo, 27, was facing multiple felony charges. He was charged with felony criminal damage for reportedly destroying a man’s cellphone in October 2020. The aggravated battery ...

Lawrence man charged with assault after allegedly wielding BB gun and a machete in dispute over moped

A Lawrence man has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly using a machete during an altercation with another person over a moped. The man, William Lawrence Abernathy, 60, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one felony count of aggravated assault "using a machete or large knife" and one misdemeanor count of battery, according to charging documents. The charges are in ...

Affidavit provides details in Douglas County case of man accused of extorting woman with nude teen photos

An Alabama man allegedly used explicit photos of a woman taken when she was 13 to blackmail her for more nude photos and as leverage to pressure the woman into a sexual act, according to a recently released affidavit. The man, Devaris Lamar Howard, 20, of Gadsden, Alabama, is charged in Douglas County District Court with two felony counts of sexual extortion of a then 18-year-old woman by communicating a threat ...

Lawrence man accused of brandishing pepper spray, hitting staff and threatening to shoot people at LMH

A Lawrence man has been charged in Douglas County District Court after allegedly brandishing pepper spray, refusing to leave LMH Health and threatening to return with a gun to shoot people at the hospital. The man, Jay Dean Jameson, 66, faces one felony count of criminal threat, two misdemeanor counts of battery and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing, according to charging documents. Police ...

Arrest affidavit sealed in case of 17-year-old accused of murdering 14-year-old Lawrence boy

The arrest affidavit has been sealed in the case of a 17-year-old who plans to argue self-defense in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy. Derrick Del Reed, 17, of Lawrence, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Kamarjay Demont Shaw, of Lawrence, sometime before 5 p.m. on March 18 in the 1300 block of Maple Lane. According to charging documents, ...