photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Harlan Epps is pictured Tuesday, June 2, 2026, with attorney Angela Keck in Douglas County District Court.

A Douglas County judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to 18 months of probation for distribution of fentanyl, pursuant to a plea agreement, and she commended him for being an exemplary defendant while awaiting disposition of his case.

Judge Amy Hanley made a point to read aloud a complimentary letter from an employee who supervised Harlan Epps for the past two years during his house arrest.

“In my line of work this is unheard of,” the letter writer said, referring to Epps’ diligence in reporting to the pretrial services office and following all rules to a T. The writer said he had never shared such input with a court before and expressed the wish that every defendant would behave so well.

Hanley praised Epps for his compliance, but also said, “I remind you that from here on out it gets harder,” and “it’s on you.”

Epps, a father of three daughters, did not speak during the sentencing. At his plea hearing in February prosecutor Eve Kemple told Hanley that Justin Jones’ family was “comfortable” with the deal the parties had reached.

Jones was a 39-year-old Lawrence man who died of an overdose at his home on June 5, 2023. Epps was originally charged with distributing the drug that led to Jones’ death, but he eventually pleaded no contest to the lesser crime of unlawful distribution of less than one gram of fentanyl. Jones’ family did not attend the sentencing.

With his criminal history, Epps fell into a border box on the Kansas sentencing grid, meaning that Hanley had to make specific findings at his sentencing that probation would be appropriate. She found that treatment programs were available in the community that would be more effective than incarceration in preventing recidivism. She also found that community safety interests would likely be best served in the long run if Epps were allowed to rehabilitate outside of prison.

Should Epps fail on his probation, he has an underlying sentence of 24 months in prison. Hanley also ordered him to pay costs and fees of $820 within the first six months of his probation, and he is required to register as a drug offender for 15 years.

According to Kansas Department of Corrections records, Epps was convicted in Wyandotte County of felony possession of narcotics in 2007 and aggravated escape from custody in 2009.