photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

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

A man accused of chasing a couple with a hatchet last year near a homeless camp in North Lawrence pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Douglas County District Court, and a trial date was set for late fall.

Brandon Eugene Snow, 33, was originally charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an incident on June 15, 2023, on the levee trail behind Johnny’s Tavern. At a preliminary hearing almost a year later, Snow was ordered to stand trial on only one of the counts, as the Journal-World reported.

At that hearing Judge Stacey Donovan did not find probable cause that aggravated assault was committed against the husband in the couple because testimony showed that he did not see the hatchet until the man was dropping it. The wife, by contrast, testified that she had seen the hatchet throughout the entire incident.

Snow is free on a $4,000 own-recognizance bond. Donovan scheduled his trial for Dec. 9-10.