photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Brandon Snow appears on June 5, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

A Lawrence man was bound over for trial on Wednesday on an aggravated assault charge for allegedly chasing a couple with an ax on the North Lawrence levee trail near the city-sanctioned homeless camp last year.

Brandon Eugene Snow, 33, was originally charged in Douglas County District Court with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an incident on June 15, 2023, around 7 a.m. on the levee trail behind Johnny’s Tavern, as the Journal-World reported.

On Wednesday, the couple who were allegedly chased, Steve and April Evans, testified at a preliminary hearing, and Judge Stacey Donovan ordered Snow to stand trial on only one of the two aggravated assault counts.

The couple testified that they had been walking along the levee while Steve took photos of the homeless camp. He said he was taking the photos because he believed the city-sanctioned camp was encroaching on the Kaw Drainage District, for which he is a board member.

At one point, the couple said, April sat down on a rock while Steve continued taking photos. April testified that when Steve was walking back to meet her, she saw a man behind him waving an ax. She said she told Steve that they were being chased, and he advised her to run.

Steve said he only caught a brief glimpse of the man while they were walking away, and he realized he couldn’t outrun the man. Then he turned around in case he had to defend himself. Steve said he saw the man had an ax raised high above his head, but that he immediately dropped the ax and asked why Steve was taking pictures. The man then walked alongside Steve for a short distance before running back to the camp, Steve testified.

Steve testified that he did not remember saying anything to the man at that time.

While this was happening, April testified, she ran to the sidewalk on the Kansas River bridge and called 911. She said she turned around to check on Steve and saw that he was walking with the man and they appeared to be having a conversation before the man went back to the camp.

Both Steve and April Evans on Wednesday identified the man with the ax as Snow.

Donovan chose to bind Snow over on only one of the two counts of aggravated assault that he was charged with. The reason, she said, was that she did not believe there was probable cause to think that Steve Evans felt threatened specifically by the ax. She said that while April testified to seeing the ax throughout the incident, Steve testified that he didn’t see the ax when he decided to run, and that when he did see it, it was only long enough to see the man drop it.

Donovan then scheduled Snow to be arraigned on the single charge on July 2. Snow is currently free on a $4,000 own-recognizance bond, meaning he was not required to pay any money to be released from jail.