photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Charles D. Thomas II and defense attorney Branden Smith appear at a plea hearing on May 9, 2022.

A Lawrence man is headed to trial on attempted second-degree murder charges after attempts to reach a plea deal failed.

Charles D. Thomas II, 37, is charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated endangering of a child.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, the charges stem from an incident where Lawrence police were dispatched to a reported shooting around 11 p.m. on July 8, 2020, in the 1900 block of East 19th Street

At the time, Lawrence police reported the shooting was a result of a domestic disturbance with children present. Nobody was struck during the shooting, but multiple shots were fired, a police spokeswoman said at that time.

Thomas is facing a series of additional charges that would have been resolved in the plea, including a charge for aggravated violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act and four counts of violation of a protective order. But Thomas’ defense attorney, Branden Smith, said that a plea deal could not be made with the state.

“We are at an impasse,” Smith said.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald said that Thomas has even more charges that would not have been a part of a plea deal, including a DUI charge.

The DUI charge dates back to March of 2019 where Thomas is also charged with reckless driving, driving while suspended, two counts of battery against a law enforcement officer and one count of interference with a law enforcement officer, all of which are misdemeanor charges.

Thomas’ trial on the attempted second-degree murder charge is set for five days beginning on Aug. 1.

On Monday, Smith asked Judge Stacey Donovan to reconsider Thomas’ bond since he has been in custody for over a year on the charges. Donovan ordered a new pretrial investigation and said that Smith could file a motion for a new bond after the investigation was complete.

Thomas’ bond was lowered from $200,000 to $75,000 in August of 2020 and he bonded out in March of 2021 but was returned to custody in May of 2021 for failure to comply with his bond conditions.

Thomas was returned to the Douglas County Jail until a new bond can be set or until his trial.