2 more men accused in rape case where woman was allegedly filmed, battered with pellet gun
Two more people have been charged in an incident where a group of men allegedly raped and battered a 29-year-old woman in Douglas County and made a recording of it.
Tiger Joe Smiley and Dionte Lamont Brown, both 21-year-old men from Topeka, were arrested last month in Shawnee County and have each been charged with one count of rape in Douglas County, according to court records. Their co-defendants, 23-year-old Malachi Samuel Thomas and 25-year-old Murphy Theodore, were arrested and charged several days earlier, and they’re both accused of other crimes in addition to rape.
Charging documents for the four men allege that in addition to raping and sharing nude images of the woman, one of the men, Thomas, battered her with a pellet gun. The charging documents for Brown specifically allege that Brown used two bottles to rape the woman.
According to the documents, Thomas is charged with one count of rape, one count of aggravated sodomy, one count of aggravated battery and one count of breach of privacy for disseminating images of the woman in the nude. Theodore is charged with two counts of rape and one count of breach of privacy.
Brown, who was arrested April 18 and released on a $50,000 bond, made his first appearance in court on Tuesday. Judge Blake Glover appointed attorney Cooper Overstreet to represent him, and the prosecution asked for his bond to be raised to $200,000. The state argued that Brown’s bond amount should be more in line with those of Thomas ($200,000) and Theodore ($175,000), who are both currently in custody in the Douglas County Jail.
Glover said that Brown’s bond was set by another judge and that he would leave it where it was.
Smiley, who was arrested April 18, first appeared in court on April 19 and was appointed attorney John Kerns, according to court records. Smiley is out of jail on a $50,000 bond.
All four men are scheduled to appear in court for a status conference on Wednesday.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has declined to release Theodore’s booking photo. Photos of the other men were obtained from other agencies.