photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in May of 2023. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

Story updated at 5:48 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1:

A man who was granted probation after an unprovoked attack on two pedestrians in May has been charged with a new crime: aggravated assault.

The man, Deonte Darrell Jackson, 34, was booked into the Douglas County Jail around 9:10 a.m. Friday. Lawrence police arrested him in the 2100 block of Harper Street. Jackson’s address listed in the booking log is the Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E. 25th St.

He is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault using a knife in connection with an incident on Aug. 24, according to charging documents.

Lawrence police Sgt. Drew Fennelly said in an email to the Journal-World that around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 24, police were dispatched to the area near Ninth and Massachusetts streets for a reported disturbance with weapons. Fennelly said that a delivery driver told police that a man had confronted him while he was making deliveries. The driver told police that the suspect threatened him with a knife, and that he responded to the suspect by pulling out his own knife, after which the suspect left the scene, Fennelly said.

Investigators identified the suspect as Jackson, Fennelly said, and Douglas County sheriff’s deputies took him into custody on Friday morning.

As the Journal-World reported, Jackson was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery in May after an unprovoked attack on two pedestrians at the intersection of 10th and Massachusetts streets. Jackson was arrested the next morning after officers were called to 12th and Pennsylvania streets, in East Lawrence, about a man armed with a knife who matched the description of the suspect. He was also charged with misdemeanor criminal damage for damaging the man’s glasses in the incident downtown.

Police released a video of the attack, which showed an unsuspecting man and woman walking on the sidewalk around 9:40 p.m. on May 24 as Jackson crossed the street, made a beeline for the couple and violently punched the man. The woman is shoved into a wall by the force of Jackson’s hit on the man. Jackson landed two additional punches on the man as a group of men on the sidewalk intervened and Jackson walked away.

“Our department is outraged by this event,” Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart said of the incident in a news release at the time. “As an agency and a city, we cannot tolerate this type of behavior.”

Lockhart directed officers to conduct foot patrols in the downtown area after the incident.

Jackson’s felony charges, however, were reduced to two misdemeanor battery charges, and he pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 10. He was sentenced by Judge Blake Glover to 12 months in the county jail, which was suspended to 12 months of probation. He was also convicted of misdemeanor assault for an incident in February, according to court records.

Jackson is currently in custody at the Douglas County Jail and is being held without bond.

The Journal-World has requested Jackson’s booking photo from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.