photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A Lawrence man has been granted probation in Douglas County District Court in a case where he was accused of threatening to hit three people with his vehicle.

Mesfen Abraham Oliver, 25, of Lawrence, was originally charged with three counts of aggravated assault in the case, but the charges were amended to a single aggravated assault count and a second-offense DUI count as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded no contest to those charges in February, and on Wednesday Judge Sally Pokorny sentenced him to 12 months in prison for the aggravated assault count and six months for the DUI count, but then suspended the sentences to 24 months of probation.

Oliver will also have to serve five days in jail for the DUI conviction and 120 hours of house arrest, Pokorny said. He was also ordered to pay court costs and fees, but his attorney fees were waived.

If Oliver were to violate his probation, he would serve the underlying prison sentences concurrently, followed by 12 months of post-release supervision, Pokorny said.

According to a charging document in the case, Oliver was accused of threatening to hit three people with his vehicle after he had been drinking on Aug. 22, 2020. Oliver, who was represented by defense attorney Gerald Wells, said Wednesday that he had spent a lot of time reflecting while going through the legal process.

“I messed up that day, and I’m going to pay the piper for that,” Oliver said.

Pokorny said that she believed Oliver had been honest in his presentence evaluation, and she sentenced him in accordance with the plea agreement.

“Good luck to you, Mr. Oliver, as you try to get your life back on track,” Pokorny said.