photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Rodney Ericson Marshall

A 51-year-old Lawrence man has been charged with first-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted murder in connection with a Sunday morning double homicide in Lawrence that also involved a police chase that ended in nearby Eudora.

Rodney Ericson Marshall was charged on Monday with two counts of first-degree murder intentional and premeditated. He was also charged with five counts of attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer, according to charging documents. All seven of these charges are off grid felonies and could come with a life sentence. In addition, he was charged with one count of attempted murder on a civilian which is a level-one felony.

The charging document filed in Douglas County District Court identified the two victims as William D. O’Brien, 43, of Lawrence, and Shelby McCoy, 52, of Lawrence.

During his first appearance on Monday, District Attorney Suzanne Valdez asked for a $2.5 million bond for Marshall. She said the case involved two deceased persons and multiple law enforcement victims and one civilian and that Marshall has a significant criminal history.

Judge Blake Glover appointed Marshall two defense attorneys, Michael Clarke and Carol Cline. Clarke, who was present during the appearance, said that $2.5 million dollars was unnecessarily high and that a $1 million bond would achieve the same result.

Glover set Marshall’s bond at $1.5 million and told Clarke he could ask the judge who would be hearing the case, Judge Amy Hanley, for any additional bond reduction.

Marshall attempted to speak during the first appearance and said that someone related to the case needed to be subjected to a drug screen. Both Glover and Clarke told Marshall that this wasn’t the time to bring up the issue but Marshall insisted that time was a “critical” factor.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, Marshall was arrested outside Eudora around 7:40 a.m. on Sunday after leading local law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase, during which shots were fired at pursuing officers, according to a news release from Lawrence Police spokeswoman Laura McCabe.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

An officer is posted outside of a house on Tennessee Street. At 12:45 pm on Sunday July 31, 2022, after a double homicide.

The Lawrence Police Department first learned of the shootings at about 1 a.m. Sunday when officers responded to calls of gunfire in the 1100 block of Tennessee Street. Officers discovered a 53-year-old man critically wounded with gunshot wounds. The man was transported to a Kansas City metropolitan area trauma center where he was pronounced dead, McCabe said.

Soon after responding to the shooting, police responded to a call of gunfire in the 300 block of Northwood Lane, which is just east of McDonald Drive in the area near the Kansas Turnpike. McCabe said officers arrived to find a 43-year-old man dead from gunshot wounds.

The road is closed at Fourth Street and Northwood Lane while forensic investigators work the scene of a homicide at 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, 2022.

Investigators identified Marshall as a suspect, located his vehicle and attempted a stop at about 6 a.m. in the 900 block of Lawrence Avenue. The suspect led officers on a chase through town to Haskell Avenue and eventually ended up on Kansas Highway 10 heading east, according to LPD. The suspect fired several times at officers while on K-10, McCabe wrote. A Eudora police officer was able to disable the vehicle with a spike strip on K-10.

“No officers were physically injured during the incident but we take their mental health very seriously and are proactively working to provide services to those directly involved,” McCabe said. “We will also work as a department and law enforcement family to identify anyone who wants to talk about it and access the professional services we have in place.”

Police interviewed the suspect after his arrest and are confident the he acted alone in the double homicide and that no other suspects remain at large, McCabe said in the release.

“This investigation involves multiple agencies, several locations, two victims and the attempted murder of several law enforcement officers,” McCabe states in the release. “In an effort to ensure all information is accurate in a fluid situation, we will not be providing further information right now … ”

A Sunday evening release from McCabe noted a heavy law enforcement presence in the 3400 block of Harvard, where multiple agencies were gathering evidence. The jail’s booking log listed Marshall’s home address as an apartment in that block.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Police block off the 3400 block of Harvard Road just off of Kasold after a double homicide.

Records from the Kansas Department of Corrections show that Marshall has multiple felony convictions in Clay County, including aggravated assault, drug possession, and criminal threat intending to terrorize.

According to the KDOC records, Marshall was last in state custody in 2016, in connection to multiple convictions in Clay County, some dating back as far as 2009.

Marshall is currently being held in the Douglas County Jail.