photo by: Mugshot courtesy of the KBI Drug Offender Registry

Sarah Nicole Larkin is pictured with the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement center.

A reluctant witness on Thursday described how a woman fired a shotgun in his car, and the court also heard from law enforcement that she may have tried to get an alleged Aryan Brotherhood member to intimidate the witness.

The woman, Sarah Nicole Larkin, 35, of Kansas City, Missouri, is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one misdemeanor count of discharge of a firearm within the city limits, according to charging documents. The charges relate to an incident on July 7, 2022, as the Journal-World reported.

Since Larkin was first charged, the state has sought to add a count of intimidation of a witness after several jailhouse calls where Larkin allegedly tried to enlist a boyfriend of hers to talk the witness into not testifying.

During a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Lt. Mark Mehrer with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reviewed five calls from the jail made by Larkin after her arrest in 2022. Larkin is heard talking to several people during the calls and asks each person about whether or not her boyfriend “Shane” has made contact with the victim.

Larkin said that Shane was a part of the Aryan Brotherhood and he would “deal with” the witness, a Black man. She said a man named “Crackerjack” could give Shane the witness’ address.

“I want to know the situation with old boy (the witness) is handled before it goes to court,” Larkin said during a call.

In the calls, Larkin alleged that the witness was assaulting her during the incident and that she ran from the situation when police were called because she is on probation with a 10-year underlying sentence.

The hearing was continued on June 21, 2023, when the witness refused to appear in court to testify. Since then, a warrant was issued for his arrest to compel him to testify.

The witness appeared in court on Thursday flanked by multiple sheriff’s deputies. At one point he acted as though he would try to leave but the deputies blocked the exit. Finally, he took the stand after Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Tatum asked Judge Stacey Donovan to hold the witness in contempt if he refused to testify.

The witness held his hands over his face before Donovan said that he could address her directly while he testified if it made it easier. He then said that he felt he had been misled about what he would be asked to do and he said he did not want to testify or press charges against anyone.

“I’m agitated right now. I don’t want to do this. I feel lied to. I’m being forced,” the witness said.

The witness did testify, though, and told the court that he picked up Larkin — an acquaintance — near LMH Health on that night in July 2022. While giving her a ride, an argument ensued about their last encounter, where the witness accused Larkin of stealing his vehicle.

The witness testified he stopped the vehicle and told Larkin to get out and walk. Larkin then reached for a shotgun that she had in a black bag next to her, the witness testified. The gun went off inside the vehicle. Larkin and the witness ended up outside the vehicle, with the witness holding her and the gun against the ground.

The witness said a passerby then stopped to ask if everything was OK, and at that point, the pair got off the ground and Larkin left the scene on foot. The witness returned to his home and talked to police, who had responded to a call from the passerby.

On Thursday, the witness was asked whether he had felt intimidated by anyone about Larkin since the incident. The witness said that he had been “heckled” and “harassed” and that people had been calling him a snitch and blaming him for her being in jail, but that no one had said specifically that he should not testify.

Larkin was on probation at the time of the alleged incident for a Douglas County felony drug distribution conviction from 2019. She was sentenced to 123 months, or over 10 years, in that case but was granted three years of probation and ordered to undergo drug treatment, according to court records. She has additional felony convictions in Douglas County in 2019 for drug possession and attempted burglary and a conviction in Shawnee County, also for drug possession, in 2020.

Larkin is also awaiting trial in Douglas County on one felony count each of burglary and theft in connection with an incident on Aug. 9, 2022, in the 900 block of Third Street.

Larkin is currently in custody at the Douglas County Jail and is being held on a $7,500 cash or surety bond. She previously posted a $15,000 bond but failed to appear at a hearing, and an arrest warrant was issued.