In an unusual turn of events, a defendant has pleaded up, not down, in a criminal case, and on Tuesday he was given a year of probation and ordered to have no contact with his victims.
It's not clear why the 36-year-old defendant, Brian Hutton, a former high school English teacher, pleaded guilty to a higher level crime than what he was originally charged with, but doing so evidently means that he will be able ...
Although Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis said earlier this year that his wife’s “transition director” position with his office would be temporary, she was still on his payroll a year after his election — a situation that the former deputy DA said has been bad for the office.
Loomis initially declined over the summer to answer questions about his wife's expected end date, but, when pressed ...
A judge on Friday dismissed a felony gun charge against a Lawrence activist after the Douglas County District Attorney's Office failed to produce two witnesses for a probable cause hearing.
The case involves Natasha Neal, a local activist who led the Massachusetts Street shutdown in the summer of 2020. Neal was charged in April of this year with criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling. The ...
A Baldwin City man who angrily confronted a group of Hispanic construction workers while armed was convicted Tuesday of two counts of aggravated assault.
The man, Craig Endecott, 55, pleaded no contest to the two felonies as part of a plea deal with the Douglas County District Attorney's Office, which dropped three other counts of aggravated assault. Endecott at one time had also been charged with criminal ...
Sentencing for a convicted rapist that was scheduled for Dec. 22 has now been moved to a month after the holidays as his attorneys prepare a motion for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial.
Miquel Brown, 33, of Lawrence, was found guilty by a Douglas County jury on Nov. 5 of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy.
The state initially objected to a delay in sentencing, but on Tuesday prosecutor Ricardo Leal ...
Recent visitors to downtown Lawrence may have noticed a few things looking different near 11th and Massachusetts streets. The obvious one is the hulking addition taking shape to the south of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center. The more subtle one is the absence of trees on the lawn between the JLEC and the historic Douglas County Courthouse.
About a dozen stumps now dot the once-shady green space, remnants ...
