A Lawrence man charged with first-degree murder and vehicular homicide now wants to delay his next court appearance, after last week raising concerns about how slowly the case was moving. Steven A. Drake III, 22, objected to his last defense attorney’s Aug. 12 motion to withdraw from his case, largely because the case has dragged on for nearly two years. But on Tuesday, Drake requested the judge push out his ...
As Lawrence finally moves past some of its deadliest chapters — long-running court cases, involving among them six men, four victims shot and killed and several other victims injured — similar scenarios unfold in other towns, with new mass shootings occurring nearly every day. Arguments about the root causes, reasons for perpetuation and potential solutions to gun violence are endless. But one thing that ...
A house fire Saturday morning displaced one resident and caused an estimated $35,000 in damages, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. First responders were dispatched to a fire in the attic of a home at 719 Arizona St. at 9:35 a.m. Saturday, according to a department news release. Crews quickly brought the fire under control, and no one was injured as a result of it. The fire was determined to ...
Lightning struck a Lawrence home overnight, causing a fire that led to an estimated $60,000 in damage, according to a news release from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. LDCFM was called to a residence at 1420 Tennessee St. at 3:16 a.m. Saturday, according to the release. Firefighters arrived three minutes later to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported. The home is a duplex rental, and eight ...
Lawrence police were investigating Saturday night after they received a call that a stabbing had taken place. Police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Tennessee Street around 8 p.m. Saturday, Patrick Compton, a department spokesman, said via email. When they arrived, they found two women who appeared to have been fighting, one of them with an apparent knife wound, he said. Officers rendered aid on scene, ...
Updated at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16: A cyclist was initially thought to be severely injured after she was hit by a car Friday afternoon, according to Lawrence police. However, by Friday evening she was in stable condition and expected to be released from the hospital tonight. Officer Drew Fennelly, of the Lawrence Police Department, told the Journal-World via email that the 30-year-old cyclist was eastbound on ...
A teen girl allegedly broke into multiple vehicles within the span of about half an hour, starting around 12:30 a.m. Friday. The haul? About $7 — $2 in change from one vehicle, and $5 from another. From 12:27 a.m. until 1:05 a.m. Friday, Lawrence police received several calls regarding thefts from vehicles in the 2200 block of Breckenridge Drive, as well as the same block of nearby Vail Way and Melholland ...
Story updated at 7:49 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16: A driver was injured and an SUV struck a house as a result of an accident Friday afternoon, according to a report from the Kansas Highway Patrol. Reached by phone Friday evening, Lawrence City Commissioner Matthew Herbert confirmed that the home on Kasold Drive is one of his rental properties. A 20-year-old Overbrook man was reportedly driving a Ford F150 southbound ...
A woman suffered suspected serious injuries in a single-car accident Friday afternoon near Lawrence Municipal Airport, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The 59-year-old Independence, Mo., woman was reportedly driving erratically and heading westbound on U.S. Highway 40 near North 1802 Road at 3:40 p.m. Friday, according to a crash report from KHP. The report says the woman’s 2018 Jeep Cherokee left ...
A former Lawrence police officer was sentenced to probation Thursday in connection with a Johnson County highway road rage incident. Jeffrey Brian Holtzman, 53, was initially charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening another man with a deadly weapon on Oct. 18, 2018. The victim told police that he was driving on Interstate 435 near Interstate 35 when Holtzman pulled alongside him and pointed ...
Story updated at 4:56 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019: A judge on Wednesday sentenced Shawn K. Smith, 20, of Kansas City, Mo., to 32 months in prison in connection with a 2017 hotel room shootout that left one man dead and two others injured. Smith has already served 698 days of that, or nearly two years, as he awaited trial. Smith was charged with first-degree felony murder and was set to go to a second ...
Story updated at 10:15 a.m. Thursday A Lawrence woman has been charged with a felony and a DUI in Douglas County District Court after a car accident injured one person. Autumn Sky Hale, 43, was reportedly eastbound on East 19th Street in a Toyota Camry around 1:24 a.m. Tuesday, near the intersection with Haskell Avenue. The Camry was approaching a flashing red traffic light, Sgt. Amy Rhoads, of the Lawrence ...
It’s not clear exactly how, but a gate to the University of Kansas chancellor’s residence was damaged over the weekend. Deputy Chief James Anguiano, of KU police, said Tuesday that someone had caused an estimated $1,500 in damage to a gate leading to 1532 Lilac Lane from Louisiana Street. Anguiano said the cause wasn’t entirely clear, but it’s possible someone intentionally drove into the gate. The ...
A Tennessee man has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with allegedly leading Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a 3.5-mile chase with a baby and loaded guns in his vehicle. Kenneth Jeremy Leedom, 32, of Woodbury, Tenn., was charged in Douglas County District Court Monday with four felony counts, including aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, aggravated endangering of ...
A Lawrence mother is mourning the loss of her young son and hoping she'll soon have answers about his death. The mother, Kristina Turner, said it was intuition that drove her to pick up the phone and call the relative who had been caring for her child. “I had just a gut-wrenching feeling that something wasn’t right,” she said. That was how she found out the boy — DéVonté Lashawn Turner, who had ...
Story updated at 6:24 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12: A jury trial for a Lawrence man charged with shooting another man in the doorway of his home nearly two years ago has been delayed again as his appointed attorney has withdrawn from the case. Steven A. Drake III, 22, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the Sept. 19, 2017, homicide of Bryce S. Holladay, 26, of Lawrence, at Drake’s home in the 2000 ...
A man who allegedly attempted to solicit a young girl at a downtown Lawrence restaurant is back in the Douglas County Jail, more than four years after he was first booked there. As his case continues, Jonathan Stephen Nelson is representing himself — a method that did not pan out in his favor when he appealed his previous sex crime conviction, but did earn him a compliment in a court opinion. Nelson has ...
Story updated at 9:35 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12: A man was arrested Sunday after allegedly ramming a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle and leading deputies on a chase while having a baby in his truck. Kenneth J. Leedom, 32, was arrested on suspicion of stolen property, attempting to flee or elude police and aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, Deputy Charlie Cooper said via email ...
A house fire that displaced five residents of a southwestern Lawrence home has been determined to be accidental, but it caused $150,000 in damages. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical responders arrived at the house, 4121 Teal Drive, at 1:32 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Journal-World reported. They found heavy fire involvement on the front side of the home that extended into the garage and brought the fire under ...
A man recently released from prison has been charged in connection with a shooting reported in Lawrence earlier this week. Casey Lamont Williams Jr., 22, was arrested Thursday morning. On Friday afternoon, he made his first appearance in Douglas County District Court and was charged in connection with two incidents. In one case, he was charged with four felonies: aggravated assault, for allegedly threatening ...