photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Tristan James exits the courtroom on March 4, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A case involving an alleged rape and kidnapping was postponed on Tuesday after DNA lab results from the KBI still hadn’t been processed.

Tristan Aden James, a 20-year-old Haskell Indian Nations University student, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of rape, one count of kidnapping and one count of eluding police, all felonies. The charges are in connection with an incident on Nov. 2, 2024, when he was arrested around 6:20 a.m.

James was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, when the state would have attempted to show probable cause that James had committed the crimes. However, James’ attorney, Angela Keck, asked the court to continue the hearing because KBI lab results from the woman’s rape kit had not been returned.

Keck said that she may want to question the victim about the lab results, to which Judge Sally Pokorny replied, “What would a lay person know about DNA results?”

“The story is in the science,” Keck responded.

Pokorny said that she has always been generous with defense attorneys who want to use a preliminary hearing as a broader evidentiary hearing but that the DNA evidence wouldn’t likely be necessary for her to find probable cause for James to stand trial.

“Looking at the affidavit, this could be a one-person hearing,” Pokorny said, referring to the alleged victim.

The Journal-World has requested the police affidavit that supported James’ arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Samantha Foster agreed that the state could present only the alleged victim’s testimony and she said she was sure the court would find probable cause. However, Foster didn’t object to Keck’s request for a continuance because she said she wanted to present additional evidence to be sure the court heard the full extent of the police investigation before making a decision. Foster said the KBI’s report should be filed within 30-45 days.

Keck then asked the court to set the next hearing for a status conference to be sure that the KBI lab report was back in time. Pokorny said that if she set it for a status conference in 30 days, it would then be another 30 days or more before the court would schedule the hearing. Pokorny said she didn’t want to delay the case any further than necessary.

Pokorny rescheduled the preliminary hearing for April 7, to which Keck said, “If the DNA isn’t ready, we’ll see where we are at.”

James has been in custody since his arrest and is being held on a $100,000 bond. Keck has asked the court to modify James’ bond and to release him to be monitored by court services. Keck wrote in her motion to modify his bond that James is a Haskell student and former basketball player for the school who is originally from Arizona and that another Haskell student has offered to allow James to stay at his home.

In another motion, Keck has asked the court to ensure that camera footage from the Lawrence Whataburger, 707 W 23rd St., from Nov. 1, 2024, is preserved, as well as surveillance footage from three different Haskell residence halls between 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 to 7 a.m. on Nov 2.