photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A young man was sentenced to probation Thursday for his role in an attack on an off-duty Lawrence police officer.

The juvenile, 17 at the time of the incident, was originally charged in Douglas County Juvenile Court with attempted murder, but the charge was later amended to felony aggravated battery. He entered a no contest plea to the charge in March. The charge relates to an incident around 2 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2022, when he and four others are accused of attacking Lawrence police officer Austin Corbitt with a tire iron before chasing Corbitt with their car and firing a gun at him, as the Journal-World has reported.

He is charged along with four other men — Zachary Taylor Maddux, 18, of Lawrence; Addison Jon Leo Giullian, 18, of Lawrence; Jackson Eugene Brouhard, 20, of Lawrence; and Xaviar Dean Anderson, 19.

On Thursday, Judge Paul Klepper sentenced the juvenile to nine months of probation in accordance with a recommendation from Douglas County Youth Services.

The juvenile has been living in a group home with a program called Crossroads, which is operated by the Working Men Of Christ. Pastor James Lindsay appeared via Zoom alongside the juvenile, and Lindsay said Thursday that the juvenile is “on the right path” and is attending regular church services and Bible study in addition to working through a GED program.

Lindsay said he hoped to continue working with the juvenile. Youth Services recommends that the juvenile continue to live at the home until the staff there determine he is ready to move on. Youth Services also recommended that if he remains at the group home he should have his GPS tracking device removed but that if he is released to his parents’ custody he should not.

The juvenile said before he was sentenced that he was thankful for the opportunity to join the Crossroads program.

“It has helped me a lot, and it is a blessing,” the juvenile said.

Klepper ordered the juvenile to remain at the group home and to follow any recommendations from his probation officer for mental health services.

A Lawrence police detective testified during a preliminary hearing for one of the men charged, Anderson, that the juvenile was directly involved in the confrontation with Corbitt but the juvenile was not the one who initiated the attack and didn’t carry a weapon.

The detective testified that Anderson told police that Maddux instigated the attack by persuading Brouhard to stop the car so that Maddux could attack Corbitt, and Maddux used the tire iron and Giullian fired the gun out of the vehicle as they chased Corbitt.

Now, three out of the five people charged in the incident have entered pleas.

Brouhard pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of reckless aggravated battery and was sentenced to three years of probation with an underlying sentence of 34 months in prison.

Giullian, 19, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on March 28. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 26 and has been free on a $50,000 cash or surety bond.

Anderson was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing on aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and aggravated intimidation of a witness, all felonies. He is scheduled for a status conference on May 23. His trial has yet to be scheduled. He is currently free on a $75,000 cash or surety bond.

Maddux is charged with attempted murder and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 15; he is currently being held on a $250,000 cash or surety bond.