photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A smashed window on an office trailer at the city-supported campsite is pictured on Oct. 2, 2023, at 100 Maple St. in North Lawrence. The window is used by city staff working in the office to interact with camp residents.

A resident at the city-supported campsite for homeless people in North Lawrence has been arrested after being accused of smashing a window of the staff office Saturday and of returning to the camp days later despite being trespassed.

The window is used by city staff working in the office to interact with camp residents. On Monday, the window appeared to have blue tape covering the damaged portion and was still being used by staff.

Police were dispatched to the camp, called New Beginnings, around 9:40 p.m. Saturday in response to a criminal damage report, said Sgt. Drew Fennelly with the Lawrence Police Department in an email to the Journal-World. He said that camp staff reported that one of the residents had punched the window, shattering it.

Police made contact with the man alleged to have punched the window; he had minor injuries to his hand, but did not need medical attention, Fennelly said. The man was issued a notice to appear in court for criminal damage and was ordered to leave the camp at the request of the site’s staff.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A smashed window on an office trailer at the city-supported campsite is pictured on Oct. 2, 2023, at 100 Maple St. in North Lawrence.

Around 12:30 a.m. Monday, an officer was patrolling the camp, and a staff member told the officer that the 35-year-old man had returned to the camp. The officer located the man and arrested him for criminal trespass, Fennelly said.

Later Monday Sean Steven Craig, 35, of Lawrence, was booked into the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of criminal trespass and failure to appear in court for an unrelated misdemeanor battery charge. He is being held on a $500 cash or surety bond, according to the jail booking log.

photo by: Johnson County Sheriff’s Office

Sean Steven Craig

Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Craig has felony convictions in Johnson County for drug possession in 2017 and 2012 and aggravated assault in 2016.

The camp also experienced vandalism back in August when the doors to the shower trailer were completely ripped off, limiting the use of the hygiene facility, as the Journal-World reported.

“We deal with vandalism to the trailer on a regular basis and work to get repairs done quickly,” Laura McCabe, a spokesperson for Lawrence police, told the Journal-World at the time. “For context, I generally hear of some sort of vandalism to the trailer about once a week.”