photo by: Mike Yoder

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St.

A Lawrence woman was sentenced Monday to two and a half years in prison for shooting a man during a home-invasion robbery last year.

Kayshunna C. Poindexter, 26, got a plea deal, in part, thanks to cooperating in the prosecution of the three men accused of committing the robbery with her.

She is willing to continue helping as those men’s cases — which are still pending — go forward, her appointed attorney Carol Cline said during Poindexter’s sentencing hearing in Douglas County District Court.

Judge Paula Martin asked whether the district attorney’s office wanted Poindexter held in the county jail until that process is complete, but prosecutor Eve Kemple said she could be transported back from prison as needed for later court hearings.

Kemple said the victim and his girlfriend are still traumatized by the incident, which happened about 8:45 p.m. Dec. 20, 2017, at the man’s apartment in the 4500 block of Wimbledon Drive. They feared they would be killed when robbers barged in while they were minding their own business at their own home, Kemple said.

The man, 21 at the time, did not want to come to court to speak at Poindexter’s sentencing, Kemple said. She said the bullet remains lodged in his body.

“He had such a mixture of emotions,” Kemple said. “These two young lives are forever changed.”

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Kayshunna C. Poindexter

Poindexter initially was charged Jan. 24 with one count of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated battery, both felonies. In July she pleaded no contest to aggravated battery.

Following her 31-month prison sentence, Poindexter must remain supervised for two years, the judge said. Martin noted that Poindexter had no criminal history.

In court Poindexter apologized and said she prayed that the shooting victim and his girlfriend could forgive her. She said she wanted to build a better life for herself.

“I accept everything I did wrong,” she said. “I’m currently ready to move forward.”

The shooting victim told police that someone knocked at his apartment door and asked for “Tim,” and he said they must have the wrong house, the Journal-World previously reported. Then someone said “run that (expletive)” and four suspects with handguns barged in.

Two suspects held the victim and his girlfriend on the first floor while the other two searched upstairs bedrooms.

The victim said the shortest suspect, whom the other robbers were calling “Tink,” was the one who shot him. Poindexter, according to jail records, is 5-foot-3. The victim was flown to an area hospital, but survived.

The men arrested and charged in the robbery after Poindexter are Jermel Fleming, 25, of Grandview, Mo.; Brian L. Proctor, 26, of Lawrence; and Brian L. Smith, 30, of Kansas City, Mo.