photo by: Kansas Bureau of Investigation Violent Offenders Registry

Isaac C. Jameson

A Topeka man who pulled a handgun after a dispute during a pick-up basketball game was sentenced to probation on Friday, despite state sentencing guidelines that presumed prison time for the gun-related conviction.

Isaaic C. Jameson, 22, pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in June. On Friday, Judge Stacey Donovan sentenced him to 26 months in prison before suspending the sentence to 24 months of probation.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, the charges stem from an incident on Feb. 21, when at about 7:45 p.m. officers responded to a disturbance with weapons at 100 Rock Chalk Drive, near Sports Pavilion Lawrence. A person reported they had been battered by one suspect and had a gun pointed at them by another suspect during a pick-up basketball game. But the suspects left before police arrived, Lawrence Police Lt. David Ernst said at the time.

Jameson was arrested on March 2 for the incident and was originally charged with four counts of aggravated assault.

At the sentencing hearing, Jameson’s defense attorney, Michelene Brassel, asked Donovan to depart from the presumptive prison sentence that Jameson was facing. She said Jameson’s friends were being attacked by members of the other basketball team, and that Jameson thought the gun would scare them away and that he never intended to use it.

Kansas sentencing guidelines require a prison sentence for any felony conviction that involves a firearm unless a judge can find a compelling reason to depart from the guidelines.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald said Jameson escalated an already dangerous situation by pulling a handgun in a public space.

“This was a fight over a basketball game at the Lawrence Sports Pavilion,” Greenwald said. He said that if Jameson wanted to stop a fight from happening, he had plenty of options other than pulling a gun, including getting help from nearby Sports Pavilion Lawrence employees.

Jameson addressed the court and pleaded with the judge to depart from the sentencing guidelines. He said that if he went to prison, he would not be able to help provide for his two children. About 10 of Jameson’s friends and family members attended the hearing.

“The outcome of this is the outcome of my family,” Jameson said.

Donovan said she was departing from the presumptive prison sentence and giving Jameson probation because Jameson accepted responsibility for his actions and didn’t contest the charges against him. She said his age and lack of criminal history also factored into her decision.

“I think that you were young and made a very poor decision,” Donovan said.

When Donovan said that Jameson would be receiving probation instead of prison, Jameson started crying and covered his face with a tissue.

Donovan ordered Jameson to pay court costs and fees and to register as a violent offender for 15 years. In addition to his probation, Jameson is also required to complete an anger management course.