photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Cameron Jay Cooper appears at a hearing on Jan. 24, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A hearing for a Lawrence teen who is alleged to have shot a man during a drug deal was rescheduled on Wednesday in Douglas County District Court after the victim was arrested by law enforcement on a warrant for violating probation.

The teen defendant, Cameron Jay Cooper, 18, is charged with one count of aggravated battery in connection with a shooting on Nov. 11, 2024, around 7:45 p.m. at 3323 Iowa St., the address of Easy Living mobile home park.

According to an affidavit in support of Cooper’s arrest, Cooper told police that he shot 26-year-old Keith Allison, of Lawrence, twice in the leg in self-defense during a drug deal for $50 worth of marijuana, as the Journal-World reported.

Allison had failed to appear for a preliminary hearing for Cooper on Jan. 24 to testify about what happened the night of the shooting. Allison’s attorney, John DeMarco, had informed the state that Allison was aware of the hearing. The hearing was delayed until Cooper could be located and the state could formally serve him with a subpoena. Allison was arrested Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.

Allison is on probation for three convictions in 2021 and 2022 — two for incidents of felony burglary and another for misdemeanor domestic battery. He has a pending felony criminal threat case that was charged in 2024.

With Allison in custody, the state, represented by Senior Assistant District Attorney Eve Kemple, asked the court to reset the preliminary hearing. Judge Sally Pokorny set a hearing for March 28.

Cooper’s attorney, Razmi Tahirkheli, then asked Pokorny to grant Cooper an own-recognizance bond, meaning Cooper would not be required to pay any money to be released from jail. Tahirkheli said that Cooper should not be punished because the state had initially failed to secure its witness and that Cooper, at the age of 18, could not afford a $50,000 cash bond.

Tahirkheli said that Copper was originally going to stay with his father in Olathe, but an issue between the two had arisen. Pokorny said that, as she understood the issue, Cooper had said he would stay with his father “over his dead body.” Pokorny said the alternative of Cooper going to stay with his girlfriend was not a good option because that’s where he was staying when he got into trouble with the law.

Cooper’s father was in the courtroom and said that he had spoken with Cooper again and that the two had worked things out despite having differing opinions on “what being a man is.”

Kemple objected to the modification and said that Cooper was charged with a high-level felony and that someone had been shot.

“He is a threat to public safety. In Olathe he will not be tied to Douglas County,” Kemple said.

Pokorny said that if Cooper’s father was sure that he could keep Cooper in line, she would grant the modified bond with house arrest and GPS monitoring. Pokorny then admonished Cooper to have no contact with the victim or any of the juvenile witnesses either in person or by directing other people to contact them through social media.