photo by: Mugshot Courtesy of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections

Cody Paul Cooper is pictured with the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

A Topeka man has been charged with two felonies after allegedly battering multiple people at a Lawrence bar before threatening to shoot bar employees after he was removed.

The man, Cody Paul Cooper, 21, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one felony count of attempted aggravated battery, one felony count of criminal threat and two counts of misdemeanor battery, according to charging documents. The charges relate to an incident at the Sandbar, 17 E. Eighth St., just before midnight on Saturday.

Police were called to the bar in reference to a fight in progress. Prior to their arrival a man, later identified as Cooper, had to be physically removed from the bar, and in the process he battered multiple people, said Sgt. Drew Fennelly with the Lawrence Police Department in an email to the Journal-World. At one point during the incident, Cooper is alleged to have picked up a bar stool and threatened to hit people with it.

After Cooper was removed from the bar, he allegedly told witnesses that he planned to retrieve a firearm from his vehicle and shoot bar employees, Fennelly said. Cooper was located by police shortly after the incident as he was walking away from the bar. No firearm was recovered and only minor injuries were reported with none requiring medical attention, Fennelly said.

Cooper is currently on probation in Shawnee County for aggravated battery in connection with an incident in April 2022 and attempted burglary in connection with an incident in June of 2022, according to court records. He was granted probation after pleading to the charges in March of 2023. He is currently being held in the Douglas County Jail without bond.