photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Maurice Anthony Mahan

A 55-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to 16 months in prison for violently threatening a downtown Lawrence restaurant worker.

Judge Amy Hanley pronounced the sentence after hearing a brief statement from the victim delivered by prosecutor Eve Kemple. The incident was “very scary and frightening for him,” Kemple said, and he expressed the desire for Mahan to make life changes so that he wouldn’t continue in his “course of conduct.” The man, who said he was comfortable with the plea agreement, attended the sentencing hearing and listened via a Spanish-language interpreter.

The crime occurred the night of May 25, 2025, outside the Basil Leaf Cafe, 801 Massachusetts St. The restaurant employee told police he was out on the patio when a man with a sharp weapon — later described in the charging document as a 9-inch spike — approached and demanded money. The employee grabbed a rock for self-defense, then pushed record on his phone and dialed 911. Mahan took off but was later arrested and charged with attempted aggravated robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As part of his deal with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, Mahan’s charges were amended to one felony count of criminal threat, which he pleaded no contest to. Additionally, the state dropped a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct stemming from an incident the day prior to the restaurant incident.

Because Mahan has the worst possible criminal history score under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines, he was facing a presumptive prison term for the criminal threat. Kansas’ Special Rule 9 also applied to his case because he committed the crime while he was on probation or parole for another offense. That special rule requires consecutive sentencing.

In the previous offense, Mahan was convicted by a Douglas County jury in April 2024 of a felony count of making a criminal threat and a misdemeanor count of theft. According to a news release from then-Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez, those convictions related to a June 21, 2023, incident in which Mahan put items in a suitcase while at Walmart, 3300 Iowa St., and left the store without paying. When a store employee told Mahan to stop, Mahan threatened to shoot the employee.

Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Mahan is a felon many times over, going back at least 30 years, with several convictions in Wyandotte County for aggravated robbery, robbery and aggravated battery, in addition to his Douglas County felonies.

When asked if he wanted to speak at his sentencing, Mahan said, “No, ma’am. Just thank you.”