photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Malachi Starr, left, appears with his attorney, Hatem Chahine, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

A 23-year-old Lawrence man was found guilty Wednesday in Douglas County District Court of felony flee and elude after a police chase in March ended in a crash in a motel parking lot.

The defendant, Malachi Starr, entered a no contest plea to the charge, which is related to an incident around midnight on March 15 when a Lawrence police officer clocked Starr driving over 80 mph in a 35 mph zone along Iowa Street. Starr eventually drove into the parking lot of the Days Inn on Iowa Street and crashed into another car as he was attempting to park.

Starr has been in custody in the six months since the chase. He had been ordered to stand trial in a rape case in October, as the Journal-World reported, but Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez moved to dismiss that case in August, citing only “prosecutorial discretion” as a reason.

Starr had also been put on diversion in a separate case in September 2022. He was charged in that case with four felony counts of distributing counterfeit currency for a series of incidents in November 2021, according to court records. As part of his diversion agreement, he stipulated to the fact that he exchanged fake $100 bills for smaller bills at four businesses on Massachusetts Street. Starr has completed the diversion in that case, according to his attorney, Hatem Chahine.

In the felony flee and elude case, Starr faces six to seven months in prison, with presumptive probation, given his now presumed criminal history score of “little to no” history, which could change pending a presentence investigation. Judge Amy Hanley scheduled Starr’s sentencing for Oct. 30 and granted his attorney’s request for Starr to be released on an own-recognizance bond in the meantime.