photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lawrence police conduct interviews after a shooting at The Jayhawk Cafe, 1340 Ohio St., on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.

One of the defendants in Saturday’s deadly shooting at the Jayhawk Cafe has requested an immunity hearing in the case.

Razmi Tahirkheli, the attorney for Daitron Lamont Daniels Strickland, 18, of Shawnee, requested the hearing Wednesday in Douglas County District Court. In an immunity hearing, Judge Amy Hanley would determine whether Strickland is immune from prosecution. Tahirkheli is expected to have his reasons for the immunity request filed in a motion by Jan. 28.

The immunity hearing and a preliminary hearing — at which Hanley would decide if there’s probable cause to order Strickland to stand trial — are scheduled for Feb. 10.

Another defendant in the shootings, Caiden Clem, 18, of Atchison, will also appear for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 10. Clem’s attorney, Carl Cornwell, said his client was not requesting an immunity hearing.

“We’re not going to do an immunity, obviously,” Cornwell told Hanley, without elaborating.

Prosecutor Eve Kemple told Hanley that Strickland and Clem are “not technically co-defendants.” Hanley, citing the court’s interest in efficiency, confirmed with Kemple that evidence would overlap in the two cases and she set Clem’s preliminary hearing on the same day as Strickland’s.

The two men are both being held in the Douglas County Jail on bonds of $1 million cash or surety. Both appeared in court via video Wednesday morning from the jail, but neither spoke.

Strickland has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Aiden Sullivan Knowles, 18, and one count of attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of Brady Clark, 16. He also faces an attempted second-degree murder charge for allegedly firing a handgun at Maddox Myer, whose age is not listed in the charging document.

photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Caiden Carl Ralph Clem

Clem has been charged with murder in the first degree (during the commission of the felony of aggravated assault) and two counts of aggravated assault. The murder charge relates to Knowles. The aggravated assault charges relate to using a handgun to place two people, Cole Morris and Jake Spencer, in reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm. Spencer is listed in charging documents as having been born in 2009. No year is given for Morris.

The shootings occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday at the Jayhawk Cafe, commonly known as The Hawk, 1340 Ohio St. Knowles died at the scene, and his friend Clark was critically injured in the shooting.