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.

Updated at 5:28 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

A Pomona man who is alleged to have provided the tire iron used in the attack on an off-duty Lawrence police officer was ordered to stand trial Wednesday in Douglas County District Court.

The man, Xaviar Dean Anderson, 19, was bound over for trial by Judge Stacey Donovan on one felony count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one felony count of conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and one felony count of aggravated intimidation of a witness.

Co-defendants in the case include Zachary Taylor Maddux, 18, of Lawrence; Addison Jon Leo Giullian, 18, of Lawrence; Jackson Eugene Brouhard, 19, of Lawrence; and a minor.

The charges relate to an incident on Nov. 4, 2022, just before 2 a.m. when five people are alleged to have attacked an off-duty police officer who was out for a walk near the intersection of Bob Billings Parkway and George Williams Way, as the Journal-World reported.

During a preliminary hearing for Anderson on Wednesday, Lawrence Police Officer Austin Corbitt testified that he was taking a walk near his residence around 1:30 a.m. and he observed a dark sedan pass by him slowly before making an abrupt U-turn near the intersection.

Corbitt said the car passed by him again and a person in the rear passenger seat rolled down the window and shouted the “b-word” at him and kept driving slowly past him. Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald asked Corbitt to clarify what he meant by the “b-word,” to which Corbitt replied, “He called me a bitch.”

Corbitt said that as he was returning to his apartment he heard some people talking in a parking lot nearby and heard some glass shatter; he then heard someone say “that’s him; he is coming” before he saw someone approaching him on the sidewalk. Corbitt said that the two exchanged a greeting but that after the man passed him Corbitt heard the sound of gravel behind him; when Corbit turned around, the man was standing there with a metal rod — later identified as tire iron — ready to swing at Corbitt.

Corbitt said the man swung at him and missed and dropped the metal rod in the street. The man then put up his hands and said “let’s f—g go, bitch,” to which Corbitt put his hands up, and the two exchanged blows. The attacker landed a punch on Corbitt’s mouth before Corbitt tried to put the attacker into a headlock, he testified.

“I don’t know what your problem is but you need to get out of here,” Corbitt said he told the attacker.

The fight stopped and the attacker moved away, saying “hold on, let me get this crowbar,” and the attacker went into the street and picked up the tire iron, then said “I’m going to … kill you” and “I’m gonna stab you,” Corbitt told the court.

Corbitt said that at that moment another, bigger man approached and said “empty your pockets,” and Corbitt said that he didn’t have anything to give them. While he was talking to the bigger man he felt the metal rod strike him in the back of the head.

Corbitt then started running down the sidewalk to escape. He said he looked back and saw the man with the metal rod chase him for a short time, but he did not catch him. Corbitt then got out his phone and called 911.

“While I was running, I reached back and felt my head and saw that I was bleeding,” Corbitt said.

While he was running he heard a loud ‘pop’ as he dialed 911, he said, then he saw that the dark sedan had started pursuing him. He said he was able to get to a nearby trail that went under an overpass and he heard another loud ‘pop’ before he could hear people talking from the car. Corbitt said he assumed they were looking for him, but then he heard police sirens approaching.

Corbitt said he was treated for the cut and required 4 staples to close the laceration on his head; a doctor at the hospital said he might have a mild concussion, but the doctor did not diagnose him with a concussion. Corbitt said he had a headache for the next few days and slept a full 48 hours immediately after the incident.

After Corbitt testified, Detective Josh Leitner testified that he took statements from some of the suspects and that Anderson was interviewed later that morning; while Anderson first claimed to know nothing about the incident he later gave a statement regarding the events of the evening.

Leitner said that Anderson explained that Maddux was badgering Brouhard throughout the night to stop the car as they passed various pedestrians in the area so that Maddux could fight or rob them. Brouhard refused to stop multiple times but finally agreed after passing Corbitt a second time.

Leitner said it is not believed that Corbitt was targeted because he was a police officer.

Anderson told police that the five men gathered in the parking lot near the intersection and that Maddux picked up a rock and said he was going to attack Corbitt. The men had a discussion that Corbitt might be armed and a rock would not be a good weapon. Anderson told police he then went to the trunk of Brouhard’s car and retrieved a tire iron and gave it to Maddux, Leitner said.

Maddux then went and confronted Corbitt. Anderson said that he could see the fight from afar but mostly just the shadows of Maddux and Corbitt. He said the minor who was with them then went over to the scene briefly before Maddux and the minor then came running back to the car.

The five of them then got back in the car, and Anderson said there was another conversation about chasing Corbitt to continue the fight, rob him or somehow prevent him from calling the police. They then started chasing Corbitt in the car.

While they were chasing Corbitt, Anderson told police that Giullian fired a gun twice out the window of the car into the air to scare the fleeing Corbitt. The men slowed, looking for Corbitt, but then fled when they heard police sirens approaching.

Police pulled the car over shortly after the incident near the intersection of Legend Trail Drive and Bob Billings Parkway and took the men into custody. The men were booked into the Douglas County jail around 6 that morning.

Anderson, who is represented by defense attorney Cooper Overstreet, is scheduled to be arraigned for the charges on March 3.

Maddux is charged with attempted murder in the first degree and is being held on a $250,000 bond. Giullian is charged with felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and one felony count of aggravated assault with a firearm; he was released on a $50,000 surety bond a month after the incident. Maddux and Giullian are both scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 14.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Jackson Eugene Brouhard

Brouhard was charged with felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and was released on a $50,000 own-recognizance bond a month after the incident, according to court records. On Thursday, Feb. 2, he entered a guilty plea to one count of aggravated battery as part of a plea agreement. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 3.

The minor was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charge has since been amended to felony aggravated battery. He was in juvenile detention after his arrest and was released to house arrest on Dec. 28, 2022, according to court records, and is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15 for a status update.