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 Lenexa man was ordered to stand trial on Wednesday for allegedly threatening to shoot another man outside of a bar in downtown Lawrence.

The man, DeCorey Jerron Pittman, 31, faces one felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of criminal threat in connection with an incident on Sept. 15, 2024, in front of Logies at 728 Massachusetts St. Pittman claims on social media that he is a former linebacker coach at Free State High School. The Journal-World has reached out to the school district to confirm whether Pittman was ever employed there.

Pittman was originally charged with only one count of aggravated assault, but the criminal threat charge was added by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal on Wednesday after a preliminary hearing where a video of the incident was presented to the court along with testimony from the victim and police officers.

The video shows Pittman and the victim briefly bumping into each other. Pittman turns to face the man, raises his shirt slightly and continues to walk to the crowded line in front of Logie’s. Both men remain in the area, and at one point Pittman can be seen looking at the man again and raising his shirt again. The man eventually follows Pittman off screen.

The victim said that he was outside of Logie’s after drinking four or five beers and was “ready to go home” when a man, later identified as Pittman, bumped into him while the two were walking on the sidewalk. The man said he asked what Pittman’s problem was.

“Instantly he showed me a gun and told me he was going to shoot me,” the man testified.

He said Pittman raised his shirt and showed the man a gun tucked into the waist of his pants. The man said he was afraid that Pittman might shoot him. However, the man said he was in disbelief about what had happened and began to talk to a couple of bystanders to see if they had seen it.

Pittman’s attorney, William Votypka, said it was clear that the man wasn’t afraid of Pittman because he stood around laughing right after he was allegedly threatened. The man said the bystander he spoke with made a joke about Pittman and that’s why he laughed.

Votypka asked why the man followed Pittman if he was afraid he could be shot. The man said that he didn’t want to risk Pittman sneaking up behind him later in the night so he kept an eye on him until he found an officer nearby and pointed out Pittman, who was leaving.

Votypka asked the man if he was aggressive toward Pittman. The man said no. Votypka said that the man told one officer that he had said, “I faced him as a man and said ‘What the F–k’,” not “what’s the problem.” Votypka argued that Pittman was afraid and was simply acting defensively when he showed his gun.

Cpl. Jared Hedge, with the Lawrence Police Department, testified that he interviewed Pittman the night of the incident and Pittman confirmed that he did bump into the man and was carrying a firearm. Hedge said that Pittman claimed that the man was the one who pulled up Pittman’s shirt, not Pittman himself. Hedge said Pittman told the man, “I don’t want any trouble.”

Officer Jonathon Inman said that he was one of the first officers to have contact with the alleged victim that night and that the man flagged officers down while they were on another call. Inman said that the victim pointed out Pittman’s car and the officers surrounded it as it was backing out.

Inman said Pittman pulled back into the parking space. He said Pittman initially reached into the back seat of the car, which alarmed the officers, but when Pittman sat back down in the driver’s seat his hands were empty. Inman said Pittman exited the vehicle and spoke with officers. He said officers then recovered a tan firearm from Pittman’s passenger seat’s back pocket.

Judge Sally Pokorny said that it was clear from the video that the two men bumped into each other and that the only thing either man should have said was, “Excuse me.” She said that Pittman backed away from the alleged victim to raise his shirt and show the man he was armed.

Votypka then asked Pokorny to schedule a hearing at which Pittman could further argue that he acted in self-defense. Pokorny scheduled the hearing on May 1. Pittman is currently free on a $10,000 surety bond.