Lawrence man, former OU player, charged with assault after allegedly exhibiting ‘strange behavior’ at 9 businesses and striking windows of occupied vehicles

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A Lawrence Police Department patrol vehicle is pictured June 28, 2022.

Updated at 3:46 p.m. Monday, July 8

A Lawrence man and former University of Oklahoma basketball player has been charged with assault on civilians and a police officer after allegedly exhibiting “strange behavior” at nine businesses and striking the windows of several occupied vehicles.

Officers responded to the area of 23rd Street and Iowa Street just before 9 p.m. on Saturday after receiving a report that a man had entered multiple businesses in the area “exhibiting strange behavior and claiming someone was trying to kill him,” said Sgt. Drew Fennelly with the Lawrence Police Department.

Police made contact with the man, later identified as Akolda Diar Manyang, 30, but he declined police assistance before he then allegedly charged aggressively at an officer, Fennelly said. Before making contact with the officer, Manyang, who is over 7 feet tall, abruptly ran to another nearby business. In total, Manyang is alleged to have gone into nine businesses and struck windows on multiple vehicles that were driving through the intersection. No damage or injuries were reported, Fennelly said.

On Monday, Manyang was charged with three misdemeanor counts of assault, two counts in connection with civilians and one count in connection with a police officer.

Manyang was kicked off the OU basketball team in June 2016 after being accused of repeated physical incidents with others. Those incidents reportedly occurred after Manyang’s brother, Ater Manyang, died by suicide.

In June 2016 he was charged in his home state of Minnesota with aggravated robbery for allegedly taking keys from a taxi driver. He was later convicted of misdemeanor assault in connection with that charge, according to court records. In May 2016 he had been suspended from the OU basketball team after he was charged with felony assault and battery for reportedly knocking out a man’s teeth. He was later convicted of misdemeanor assault and battery in that case and agreed to pay $4,045 in restitution.