photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Michael A. Hormell, pictured in December 2019

A Lawrence man has pleaded no contest to lesser charges in a 2020 armed robbery case.

The man, Michael Alexander Hormell, 22, pleaded to amended charges of burglary of a dwelling and two counts of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, all felonies.

He was originally charged with the felonies of aggravated robbery, criminal possession of a firearm and interference with law enforcement, according to charging documents in the case.

Hormell faces 11 to 34 months in prison on the burglary charge and seven to 23 months on the gun possession charges, according to a news release from the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

Hormell’s plea is in connection with a reported armed robbery in the 200 block of North Seventh Street on April 23, 2020, according to charging documents. The document lists a handgun, a rifle and jewelry as items stolen in the robbery. Hormell was on bond at the time of the robbery, facing charges for shooting a teen in 2018, which he was later convicted of.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, Hormell was sentenced to 18 years in June 2021 for attempted voluntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery. On Jan. 26, 2018, Hormell and his then-girlfriend, Ardyn D. Pannell, had set up a drug deal and planned to rob the teenage seller at Parnell Park in eastern Lawrence. The teen fought back, and Hormell shot him in the chest. The victim survived the shooting.

At that sentencing, Judge Amy Hanley described Hormell as displaying a “pattern of gun violence.”

District Attorney Suzanne Valdez echoed that concern in her news release Tuesday: “This office continues to send a clear message that there is zero tolerance for gun violence in our community,” she said.

Hormell is scheduled for sentencing on May 19. He is currently in custody at the Douglas County Jail.