photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A Lawrence 18-year-old charged in connection with a shooting last November told police he was defending himself after a marijuana deal that went wrong, according to a recently released police affidavit in the case.

The affidavit describes the allegations against 18-year-old Cameron Jay Cooper, of Lawrence, who is charged with one felony count of aggravated battery in an incident that took place on Nov. 11, 2024. Cooper is alleged to have shot and seriously injured a 26-year-old man around 7:45 p.m. that day at a mobile home park at 3323 Iowa St.

The affidavit contains accounts of the incident given to police by Cooper and the man who was shot that day, Keith Allison. Both of them describe a marijuana deal gone wrong, but in different ways. According to the affidavit, Cooper told police that he shot in self-defense after the deal broke down and the situation escalated, while Allison told police that he was shot while trying to pull the dealer away from one of the buyers who had a gun.

The following details are from the affidavit. Allegations in affidavits have not been proved in court.

Cooper was interviewed by police on Nov. 12, 2024; he waived his Miranda rights and spoke to them about the shooting, the affidavit says. He told police that on Nov. 11, he had arranged to buy some marijuana from another teen. Before the dealer showed up, he said, he put on a ski mask to hide his identity “from a subject who wanted to harm him.” He also told police that he had his Browning .380 pistol with him in his waistband.

When the deal was scheduled, several people pulled up in a Jeep, and Cooper told police that the front passenger got out and stated, “Y’all ain’t getting (expletive).” Two more people then got out of the vehicle, Cooper told police, and he pulled out his gun and “racked a round” in the chamber.

The affidavit says Cooper then told police that one of the men began walking toward him and said “Shoot me, (expletive), I’ll (expletive) kill you.”

Cooper told police that he was frightened and that when the man made a “flinching” motion he fired two shots. He said he was aiming low because he did not want to kill the man, the affidavit said.

After that, Cooper told police, he ran away and buried the gun in the mud nearby. The affidavit says police later recovered the gun after Cooper showed them its location.

Allison, who spoke to police while recovering in the hospital, and other witnesses who arrived in the Jeep told police that the driver of the Jeep knew the passengers and was taking one of them, a teen called “Smokey,” to the place where Smokey had arranged to sell another teen some marijuana for $50.

When they arrived at the location so Smokey could do the deal, the witnesses said they saw two men approach wearing ski masks.

Allison told police that Smokey went to complete the deal with the men, but that Smokey became upset because he wasn’t paid. Allison said he tried to pull Smokey away from the situation when he saw one of the masked men was holding a silver handgun. The man fired the gun twice, Allison told police, hitting Allison once in his left shin and once in his left thigh.

After that, Allison told police, the two masked men ran away. Allison was then taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center by ambulance.

In addition to Cooper, one other person has been arrested in connection with this incident: a 17-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of felony attempted robbery, as the Journal-World reported.

Cooper is being held at the Douglas County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 24.