photo by: Lawrence Police Department

Derrick Del Reed

The arrest affidavit has been sealed in the case of a 17-year-old who plans to argue self-defense in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy.

Derrick Del Reed, 17, of Lawrence, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Kamarjay Demont Shaw, of Lawrence, sometime before 5 p.m. on March 18 in the 1300 block of Maple Lane. According to charging documents, Reed lives in the 1300 block of Maple Lane, and police previously said they believed that Shaw and Reed knew each other.

Reed’s attorney, Mark Hartman, said at Reed’s first appearance on March 21 that he planned to argue at an upcoming immunity hearing that Reed acted in self-defense, as the Journal-World reported.

The affidavit would have provided preliminary details of the police investigation that supported probable cause for Reed’s arrest. The affidavit was sealed on Friday by Juvenile Court Judge Paul Klepper, who said in the order that “the affidavit in question is part of the social file,” which is typically not open to public inspection in juvenile cases.

Juvenile cases also include an “official file” open for public inspection, which includes the complaint, process, service of process, orders, writs and journal entries reflecting hearings held, judgments and decrees entered by the court, according to Kansas law.

photo by: Jawaun Johnson’s GoFundMe

Kamarjay Shaw, center, was killed in a shooting on March 18, 2023.

Few official details have been released about the shooting, but in an order from the court to remove Reed from parental custody for out-of home placement, signed by Klepper, the court says that it has found probable cause to believe that Reed has committed a homicide using a handgun and that his health and safety, as well as community safety, are at risk if he is not detained.

The order also said that Reed was “allegedly engaged in a fight that escalated to the use of a handgun, which resulted in the death of a minor.” The order stated: “The court does not believe that the juvenile’s present circumstance and supervision are sufficient to protect either him or public safety without significant intervention.”

Beyond the immunity hearing, Reed is also scheduled for a motions hearing on June 2, when prosecutors plan to argue that he should be charged as an adult in Shaw’s death. The state has filed a motion to combine the two hearings, which Reed’s attorney, Hartman, objected to during Reed’s first appearance. Hartman said he anticipated the case to be “resolved at the stand your ground hearing” April 20 and that the waiver to adult status hearing wouldn’t be necessary.

Reed is currently in custody with Douglas County Youth Services. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has not released Reed’s booking photo.