photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A new jury room is pictured at Douglas County's Judicial and Law Enforcement Center on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.

Updated at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20

About an hour after a jury began deliberating a Douglas County aggravated assault case, the parties were called back into the courtroom over what appeared to be a grave matter.

Judge Stacey Donovan did not publicly disclose what the issue was, but it appeared to be about the jury and could therefore have potentially led to a mistrial, based on statements overheard in the courtroom.

However, shortly before 5 p.m. Donovan, in response to a question from the Journal-World, indicated that the “jury is still deliberating.” And minutes after that, the jury returned to acquit the defendant of two felonies.

The parties were called back into the courtroom at 3:20 p.m., minus the jury, and Donovan appeared in the courtroom about 10 minutes later and asked the prosecutor, Cody Smith, and the defense counsel, Razmi Tahirkheli, to approach the bench.

She appeared to share a piece of paper with them, and Tahirkheli was heard to say “Oh my God.”

It appeared that the need may have arisen for the alternate juror to step in for some reason. Thirteen jurors were initially selected in case someone became ill or unavailable. Alternates do not take part in deliberations but are on standby in case they are needed.

At the bench, Smith said, “Judge, we have lost our alternate,” to which Donovan replied, “No, we have not lost our alternate.”

Smith then spoke to Donovan at some length, but a white noise machine started by the judge at that point obscured further conversation.

At the end of the minutes-long conversation, Donovan announced a recess. Her administrative assistant shortly thereafter summoned the attorneys, who eventually returned to the courtroom and had a private conversation.

People then cleared out of the courtroom with no explanation except that the court was “in recess.”

The matter concerned the case of Jason Keesee, whose two-day trial on two counts of aggravated assault concluded Thursday afternoon with closing arguments. Keesee was accused of pulling a gun on two people at a Lawrence gas station and putting them in imminent fear for their safety.

At the conclusion of closing arguments, Donovan announced who the alternate would be of the 13 people sitting on the jury. That man initially exited through the jury door behind the 12 others, but was shortly thereafter seen in the hallway of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center talking to Smith and other people connected to the trial, while the jury was deliberating.

The man was heard to say “when I worked here,” and he was later seen talking to deputies near the entrance of the JLEC.