photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Devontae Deshon Rae Torres is arrested in the hallway of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Failing to register as a violent offender in Kansas is a serious offense, and on Wednesday a convicted felon in Douglas County discovered just how serious.

Devontae Deshon Rae Torres, who was convicted in 2022 of siccing a pit bull on a man, was ordered to stand trial on two counts of aggravated violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act, a Level 3 person felony punishable by a minimum of 55 months in prison.

At a brief preliminary hearing, an offender registration clerk testified that Torres, who is required to report four times a year, hadn’t reported since July 2024. Nor had he shown up in person, as required by law, to notify the office of any change of address, she said.

Razmi Tahirkheli, Torres’ attorney, argued that Torres had taken up residence in Missouri, which he said does not require such registration. But prosecutor Megan Ahsens argued that no evidence was presented that Torres has been living in Missouri. Regardless, she said, he would still have had to notify the registration office that he had moved out of state.

A Douglas County deputy testified that Torres was arrested on the registration violation warrant in Shawnee County, Kansas, by the Kansas Highway Patrol. She said Torres did not possess any valid identification at all, let alone ID indicating a Missouri address.

After Senior Judge Nancy Parrish ordered Torres to stand trial on the two counts, Ahsens told the court that the state, prior to the preliminary hearing, had offered Torres the opportunity to plead to two Level 6 felonies instead, which he declined. That offer would now be revoked, she said.

As soon as Torres left the courtroom he was arrested on another warrant and taken into custody. It wasn’t clear what that warrant was for, but it appeared to be a municipal warrant of some kind.

“Are you serious?” Torres asked the deputy handcuffing him, using a number of expletives to express his disbelief. The deputy who arrested him was the same deputy who, just moments before, had testified at his hearing.

Torres was required to register as a violent offender after he pleaded no contest in November 2022 to one count of felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon — specifically, a pit bull. After a chaotic altercation involving several individuals, he reportedly tackled a man, punched him repeatedly and ordered a pit bull to bite him. As the Journal-World reported, the victim told police that as the dog was biting him, he could hear Torres yelling “get him.” The victim said he was treated at the hospital for lacerations inflicted by the dog.

Judge Sally Pokorny, now retired, sentenced Torres to 12 months in prison and suspended the sentence to 24 months of probation. She ordered him to register as a violent offender for the next 15 years.

Parrish scheduled a May 20 arraignment for Torres.