photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Junah A. Sisney walks to his court appearance on April 28, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A Baldwin City man will soon stand trial for attempted capital murder after plea negotiations with the state proved unsuccessful.

Junah Sisney, 23, is alleged to have fired a gun at multiple people on Dec. 30, 2022, outside of the Bullpen Bar, 811 Eighth St. in Baldwin City, before driving around the block, firing at more people near the Baldwin City Library, 800 Seventh St., then returning to the bar and firing at it again.

Sisney’s attorney, Nicholas David, told Judge Stacey Donovan on Thursday that Sisney had offered at one point to plead guilty to two counts of attempted second-degree murder but that the offer had been rejected by then-Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Melton, who took over the case after Greenwald’s departure in August, said the state was not interested in a plea deal.

“The state has determined that this is a case that needs to be tried,” Melton told Donovan.

Sisney’s trial is set to begin in Douglas County District Court on Nov. 3.

At his preliminary hearing two and a half years ago, a video of a police interview was played for the court in which Sisney told a detective that he shot at the bar and public library because he “wanted to kill some people.”

“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve thought about killing people when they pissed me off,” he said in the interview.

In the course of his case, Sisney has twice been at Larned State Hospital due to concerns over his mental fitness to stand trial. Most recently, in February of this year, Donovan deemed him competent to stand trial. His attorney has filed a notice of intent to offer a defense of mental disease or defect.

If Sisney were to be convicted of attempted capital murder, he could face life in prison. He is currently being held at the Douglas County Jail on a $500,000 bond.