photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Ontareo X. Jackson

A Lawrence man pleaded no contest Friday in Douglas County District Court to one count of attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of a woman in a car last spring.

The man, Ontareo X. Jackson, 19, was one of two men facing charges in connection with the shooting of Caylee Nehrbass on May 27, 2021. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 5 and faces 55 to 247 months in prison, depending on his prior criminal history.

Alejandro Martinez-Diaz, 19, also charged in the shooting, is scheduled for a jury trial on March 14. Martinez-Diaz was released from custody after posting a $75,000 cash or surety bond.

Jackson and Martinez-Diaz were each initially facing two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the shooting but were later upgraded to two counts of attempted first-degree murder each.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, Nehrbass testified during a preliminary hearing in October that she and her boyfriend, Javier Romero, 18, were driving in North Lawrence when it appeared that Martinez-Diaz and Jackson were following them.

Nehrbass said she and Romero thought they had lost them while driving but encountered them again at the intersection of North Seventh and North streets, where one of the men opened fire. Nehrbass said she blacked out after she was hit, but woke up while Romero was on the phone with 911 reporting the shooting and was driving her to the hospital.

Romero testified in November that he did not initially realize the vehicle at the intersection was the car following them. He said he realized something was wrong when he entered the intersection to turn left, which required his vehicle to cross in front of the silver sedan.

He said that’s when he saw Jackson lean out of the passenger side of the vehicle with a compact assault-style rifle. He said he had recognized the firearm because he had previously seen it on social media.

Romero said Jackson fired several times at his vehicle and he also briefly saw Martinez-Diaz, the driver of the vehicle, outside of the car holding a handgun. He said he also saw “muzzle flashes” from the handgun, suggesting that Martinez-Diaz was firing it.

Romero is currently in Douglas County Jail custody and has been charged with first-degree murder in a separate shooting in September. In that case, Romero is accused of killing Christian Willis of Wichita on Sept. 8, as the Journal-World previously reported.