photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Allstars nightclub at 913 N. Second St. is pictured Thursday, July 14, 2022.

A man was beaten at a Lawrence nightclub before returning with a pistol and firing multiple shots at patrons outside of the club from his car, according to an arrest affidavit.

As the Journal-World has reported, Jermey Anthony Johnson, 24, is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with a shooting that occurred on Aug. 1, 2021, at the now-closed Allstars nightclub at 913 N. Second St.

A probable cause affidavit obtained by the Journal-World provides new details about the alleged shooting. According to the affidavit, a witness reported hearing five gunshots and saw multiple people ducking for cover in front of the nightclub.

Additionally, the affidavit said that the suspect in the shooting was in police custody — found with a 9mm handgun — minutes after the shooting, but ultimately was released before being arrested again nearly a year later.

A probable cause affidavit makes allegations about illegal activity that have not yet been proved in court. Rather, a probable cause affidavit is a court-required report detailing why a law enforcement officer arrested an individual.

Other allegations in the affidavit include:

• Johnson was punched shortly after entering Allstars around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 1. Ultimately, two men punched, kicked and stomped on Johnson’s head and face, and Johnson was thrown down a stairway, according to the affidavit.

• Johnson, who was with his girlfriend, left the club in a white Dodge Challenger before ultimately returning alone to a parking lot across the street from the club at approximately 2 a.m. By 2:07 a.m. at least one of Johnson’s alleged assailants was standing outside the club with other patrons. The affidavit says video from the scene shows several muzzle flashes coming from the white Dodge Challenger, which was stopped on North Second Street in front of the club.

Additionally, the affidavit says surveillance video shows a bullet shatter the glass of the front door of the club and strike the wall in the club’s foyer where club patrons had been standing only seconds before.

• After a witness called police to report seeing the vehicle and hearing gunshots, an officer pulled over Johnson, who was in a white Dodge Challenger, at 2:11 a.m. at Ninth and Iowa streets. The officer found a Taurus 9mm handgun in the car, along with six 9mm shell casings, according to the affidavit.

• Johnson was taken to LMH Health for treatment of “significant facial injuries.” Johnson had been under arrest following the traffic stop, “but was later unarrested at LMH, so he could be treated for his injuries,” according to the affidavit.

• Lawrence police detectives interviewed Johnson on Aug. 26, 2021 — about 25 days after the alleged shooting. According to the affidavit, Johnson did not tell detectives how the altercation ended or what he did afterward, and Johnson could only identify one of the men who beat him while he was on the ground. Johnson did say that the altercation stemmed from rude comments the man had made to his girlfriend. The detective who wrote the affidavit concluded that Johnson returned to the club and opened fire “as revenge for the earlier aggravated battery.”

Nearly a year later, on July 13, 2022, Johnson was arrested in connection to the alleged shooting at Allstars. The affidavit does not provide details on why the arrest occurred when it did. Johnson was released on a $100,000 bond the day after his arrest. He’s scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 17.

At Johnson’s first court appearance on July 14, Judge Blake Glover said that Johnson could face more than fifty years in prison for each charge if convicted, depending on his criminal history. Johnson has no previous convictions or charges in Douglas County court records.

Other individuals have been arrested in connection to the Allstars incident. In January 2022, charges were filed against Christopher Shane Wuenstel, 23, of Topeka. He faces one felony count of aggravated battery for allegedly causing great bodily harm to Johnson on Aug. 1, 2021.

A warrant was issued for Wuenstel’s arrest, and he was taken into custody on May 11, 2022. He was released a few days later after posting a $30,000 bond.

photo by: Shawnee County Department of Corrections

Christopher Shane Wuenstel

The other man who is accused of beating Johnson is Daequan Jermaine Rayton, 24, of Topeka. Rayton is charged with one felony count of aggravated battery in connection with the incident. The charges were filed in January, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Rayton was arrested on Jan. 14 by U.S. Marshals, the Journal-World reported.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Daequan J. Rayton

Rayton was also wanted in connection with an unrelated shooting Jan. 1 at The Outhouse, a rural nightclub at 1837 North 1500 Road. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder in that incident. He was bound over for trial in that case in April.

Rayton is currently being held in the Douglas County Jail on a $50,000 bond for the aggravated battery charge involving Johnson and a $500,000 bond for the attempted first-degree murder charge related to The Outhouse shooting.

Allstars is currently closed. Since the shooting, the City of Lawrence has tried to force the business to permanently shut down, filing a lawsuit alleging that it was illegally operating as a strip club. In that lawsuit, the city cited the alleged shooting at Allstars as evidence that the club had been the site of “serious and numerous criminal infractions.” Owners of the club, as part of the lawsuit, denied those allegations.