photo by: Sara Shepherd

Steven A. Drake III appears in Douglas County District Court during a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019.

It will be months longer before a jury decides whether Steven A. Drake III is guilty of murder for fatally shooting a man in what he claims was self-defense.

Drake, 22, of Lawrence, had been scheduled to go on trial this week in Douglas County District Court, but Judge Kay Huff on Tuesday moved the trial to April 29. She also marked off seven days for the trial at that time, instead of just five as previously planned.

Huff was sick Monday and couldn’t proceed as hoped. With the delay, attorneys said they did not think there would be enough time for Drake’s trial and jury deliberations before Tuesday, when Huff is scheduled to select a grand jury to investigate claims that former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office committed election-related crimes.

Drake is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the Sept. 19, 2017, homicide of Bryce S. Holladay, 26, of Lawrence. The shooting happened in the doorway of Drake’s home in the 2000 block of West 27th Terrace.

Drake claims he was defending himself and others when he shot Holladay. According to Drake and three other people at the house with him, Holladay was taking items from the home and refused to leave, even after the four of them tried to physically force him out the door.

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.

Drake told Huff he agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial to accommodate the delay.

Regarding Drake’s new trial date, his appointed attorney, Angela Keck, said, “certainly we would prefer to have it sooner.” However, she said she understood the difficulty of finding seven free days on the court’s calendar.

The week of April 29 Drake was already on Huff’s schedule for a trial in another case, in which he’s charged with felony aggravated battery from an unrelated fight months before the homicide. That trial was bumped back until June 10.

A trial date isn’t yet set for a third criminal case against Drake, in which he’s charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide in connection with a 2016 crash that killed his passenger.

Drake did reject a plea offer that would have settled all three cases in exchange for prosecutors recommending a sentence of 15 and a half years in prison. If a jury convicts him of first-degree murder, Drake could face life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.