Man pleads guilty to two counts of attempted 2nd-degree murder in North Lawrence shooting

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Alejandro Martinez-Diaz during a plea hearing on June 20, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Martinez-Diaz pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in the second-degree in connection with a 2021 shooting.

A Lawrence man who was charged in a shooting that injured a young woman in North Lawrence pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted second-degree murder on Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.

Alejandro Martinez-Diaz, 20, was the last of the three co-defendants in the case to enter a plea in Douglas County District Court in connection with the shooting, which happened on May 27, 2021. As the Journal-World previously reported, Martinez-Diaz and his two co-defendants allegedly chased Caylee Nehrbass and her boyfriend, Javier I. Romero, through North Lawrence and opened fire with a handgun on the car Nehrbass and Romero were in, striking Nehrbass in the back of the head and neck.

In Martinez-Diaz’s plea agreement, the state agreed to reduce his charges from two counts of attempted first-degree murder to two counts of attempted second-degree murder. In addition, the state agreed to drop charges of drug distribution and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which stemmed from a separate incident that happened while Martinez-Diaz was out on bond in the attempted murder case, as the Journal-World reported.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Tatum said that the state would recommend that Martinez-Diaz be sentenced to 12 years in prison, and that Martinez-Diaz would not be permitted to argue at sentencing for less time or for probation. Whatever Martinez-Diaz’s sentence is, Judge Amy Hanley said that Martinez-Diaz would have to register with the state as a violent offender for at least 15 years after he is released from prison.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Alejandro Martinez-Diaz is sworn in during a plea hearing on June 20, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Martinez-Diaz pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in the second-degree in connection with a 2021 shooting.

Nehrbass, now 20, described the shooting at a court hearing in October 2021, saying that she briefly blacked out after being shot and that when she awoke, her neck was “gushing” blood. She said Romero, also 20, drove her to the hospital, but that she had bullet fragments in the back of her head that were too small to be removed. Romero is facing an unrelated charge of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Christian Willis, 21, of Wichita, on Sept. 8, 2021, in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Eduardo Martinez-Diaz, left, and Ontareo X. Jackson

The two other men charged in the North Lawrence shooting both took plea deals last year to resolve their cases.

One of them was Martinez-Diaz’s younger brother, Eduardo Martinez-Diaz, 17, of Lawrence. He was originally charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in December 2022 to two felony counts of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle and was sentenced to 36 months of probation with an underlying sentence of 64 months in prison.

The other co-defendant, Ontareo X. Jackson, 20, of Lawrence, was originally charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder but pleaded no contest to a single count of attempted second-degree murder on Feb. 25, 2022, and was sentenced to 59 months in prison.

Alejandro Martinez-Diaz is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 3. He is currently being held at the Douglas County Jail on a $250,000 bond.