photo by: Mugshot courtesy of the Lawrence Police Department

Owen Gage Walker is pictured with the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

Lawrence police had recommended that a man be charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a 14-year-old boy’s shooting death, according to a recently released affidavit.

The man, Owen Gage Walker, 20, of Lawrence, was to be a key witness in the trial of Derrick Del Reed, 19, of Lawrence, in March of 2024. Reed was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Kamarjay Shaw after Shaw was shot in the back on March 18, 2023, while running away from Reed’s home at 1318 Maple Lane in Lawrence. Reed was 17 at the time of the shooting and had initially argued for immunity from prosecution based on self-defense ahead of the trial, at which he was ultimately acquitted.

According to a recently released police affidavit from June 2023, police had originally asked the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office to charge Walker, along with two teen girls, with conspiracy to commit murder based on a statement made by Reed’s attorney, Mark Hartman. Allegations in arrest affidavits have not been proved in court.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Derrick Del Reed, right, and his defense attorney Mark Hartman during Reed’s murder trial on March 11, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

In the affidavit, detectives interviewed Walker the night of the shooting and Walker told police that he and Reed were “defending themselves” against a group of teens who were carrying metal poles, two of whom had guns. When Walker was asked what he meant by “defending,” Walker declined to go into detail.

Walker told police that he believed Reed fired on the group of teens after one of them damaged Reed’s sister’s car with a metal pole, according to the affidavit. Walker told police that he didn’t personally have a gun but that Reed did.

Police recommended obstruction and interference charges for Walker because Walker lied about when he and Reed separated and whether he knew where the gun was after he and Reed allegedly hid it. Police also said that after the shooting Walker concealed evidence by changing his clothes and not disclosing their location to police, according to the affidavit.

Police recommended the conspiracy to murder charge after Hartman had called them on Reed’s behalf to say that Reed was going to turn himself in. In another call, Hartman gave police a GPS location of the gun. In one of those conversations, Hartman allegedly told police that Walker had told Reed to shoot.

“Affiant also believes Owen conspired with Derrick in the shooting based on comments made by Derrick’s defense attorney Mark Hartman. Mr. Hartman advised Affiant there was hesitation on his client’s part before firing the gun but after Owen told him he had to do it, Derrick fired,” the affidavit said.

Police also believe two of the teen girls, later convicted of obstruction in the case, also conspired to murder Shaw because they lured Shaw to Reed’s home. The girls have since served their probation sentences in connection with their obstruction charges.

“Affiant believes Owen conspired with Derrick in the death of Kamarjay Shaw. (21-5402-a-1) (conspiracy). Affiant believes [redacted teen name No. 1] and [redacted teen name No. 2] did so by luring Kamarjay and his group up to 1318 Maple Lane and Owen did so by instructing Derrick to shoot,” the affidavit said.

Hartman argued at trial that Walker could have been the real shooter after an eyewitness told police the day of the shooting that she saw a light-skinned African American man fire the gun. That witness later recanted her statement and said while she did see an African American man with a gun, she had taken cover in her home just before shots were fired.

Walker defied a subpoena to testify at trial, and Reed was ultimately acquitted. Lawrence police had sought Walker for felony counts of obstruction and interference until January 2025, when he was arrested at the Dino Mart at 2220 Harper St. An attorney, Gary West, told the court during Walker’s first appearance that Walker could have been found quite easily as he was living at his mother’s house in Lawrence the whole time, as the Journal-World reported. A woman identifying herself as Walker’s mother has disputed West’s claim to the Journal-World.

Walker is currently free on a $25,000 bond. An intern with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office had argued to raise the bond to $75,000 about a week before former District Attorney Suzanne Valdez left the office. Judge Stacey Donovan rejected the increase that day, choosing instead to let Judge Sally Pokorny make that decision at a later date since the case was assigned to Pokorny’s court, but Walker bonded out that day.

Walker is scheduled to appear on Wednesday for a status conference on one count of obstruction and one count of interference, both low-level felonies.

photo by: File photos

Kamarjay Shaw, left, and Derrick Del Reed, right.