photo by: Mugshot courtesy of the Kansas Department of Corrections

Ronald D. Walters is pictured with the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

A Lawrence man was sentenced to more than a year in prison on Wednesday in connection with an incident in which he was alleged to have beaten a man with a hammer and tried to run over two sheriff’s deputies.

Ronald Dwane Walters, 51, of Lawrence, pleaded no contest in October to one count of felony criminal threat as part of a plea agreement in which the state dismissed two felony counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one misdemeanor count of criminal damage. An additional count of felony aggravated battery was dismissed by the court after the alleged victim of the hammer attack failed to appear in court to testify.

The charges relate to an incident on April 28, 2024, at a rural residence in the 1200 block of 1900 Road near Eudora, as the Journal-World previously reported.

Judge Amy Hanley said that Walters has an extensive criminal history and sentenced him to 16 months in prison. She said that Walters could be eligible for 20% good time while in custody with the Kansas Department of Corrections in accordance with state law.

Walters had been free on a $20,000 bond and was taken into custody after the hearing.

According to court records, Walters has numerous other convictions through the years for multiple misdemeanor battery and felony battery charges in Douglas and Franklin counties.