photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A view of the entrance to the city-support site on July 13, 2023.

In the wake of an incident in which a man is accused of chasing a Lawrence couple with an ax, a spokeswoman for the City of Lawrence will not say whether the man has been allowed to continue living at the city-sanctioned campsite for homeless people in North Lawrence.

“We have worked hard to protect and respect the privacy of the individuals staying at the New Beginnings camp and won’t discuss details about specific community members,” spokeswoman Laura McCabe told the Journal-World. However, McCabe noted in an email to the Journal-World that “off-site incidents” would not be “barriers to stay at the site.” Nor would “behavior that occurred prior to” the person staying at the camp.

The camp has been the site of numerous illegal acts, including violence, drug activity and other issues necessitating frequent calls to police.

Brandon Eugene Snow, 32, whose address is listed as the tent site in North Lawrence, was charged Monday in Douglas County District Court with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, namely a double-sided hatchet or ax, according to the charging document.

Snow is alleged to have come from the city site and to have chased a 72-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman who were walking near the camp on the Kansas River levee sometime before 7 a.m. Saturday, said Sgt. Drew Fennelly with the Lawrence Police Department. Snow allegedly told police that he was upset that the man and woman were taking photographs of the camp, but he denied ever threatening anyone with an ax, Fennelly said.

Snow was arrested at the city campsite Saturday morning. He was released on a $4,000 own-recognizance bond, meaning he was not required to put up any money. He was released to Douglas County pretrial services at an intensive monitoring level, which requires him to check in with the court up to four times per month. As part of the provisions of his bond, Snow is not required to wear a GPS monitor to track his location.

It was unclear where he was living Tuesday afternoon, and McCabe would not say whether he was back at the campsite.

“I will say, however, that the support site is considered a low-barrier temporary emergency shelter,” she said.

“We ask folks who want the benefits of the shelter — a tent, food, hygiene support, direct access to county-wide support services, etc. — to sign a rules and expectations agreement,” McCabe said, but she did not directly answer whether Snow would be welcome.

McCabe said the agreement prohibits “several offensive and criminal actions on site premises,” but she did not specifically address incidents like the alleged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon that occurred near the premises.

McCabe noted that the agreement specifies that if a person is not present for 72 consecutive hours, employees at the camp have the authority to pack up the person’s belongings to make room for new people and store those items for 30 days.

Snow is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 22, according to court records.