photo by: Chris Conde/Special to the Journal-World

Julius Beasley appears on Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024, in Douglas County District Court. He has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the stabbing death of a woman at an unsanctioned homeless camp in North Lawrence.

A former murder defendant was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial for robbery and aggravated burglary.

Julius Beasley was arrested on suspicion of the two felonies in March, less than three weeks after the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office dropped a murder charge against him. He has pleaded not guilty.

Judge Stacey Donovan heard evidence on the new charges and found probable cause to bind Beasley over for trial.

Beasley, who was accused of murdering 51-year-old Crystal Marie White two years ago at a North Lawrence homeless camp, was arrested around 11 p.m. on March 20 at an apartment building in the 600 block of Maine Street. The first-degree murder charge was dismissed on March 2, 18 days prior, at the request of Douglas County DA Dakota Loomis, who cited a lack of evidence.

A resident of the building on Maine Street told police that he was sitting outside enjoying the summerlike weather when a man he didn’t know went into his apartment and tried to take his wallet.

The resident said that a violent fight ensued but that he was eventually able to get the man out, shut the door and call for help.

On Wednesday, police officers testified about the crime scene, the resident and Beasley.

Detective Evan Curtis told the court that the resident had a “large amount of small lacerations on pretty much all of his exposed skin” where glass had been embedded after the fight with Beasley ended up breaking a glass door. He also described a laceration on Beasley’s head from the resident headbutting him and wounds where Beasley had been stabbed with scissors and bitten on the face. Beasley’s feet had also been beaten with a rubber mallet, Curtis said, as the resident sought to get Beasley’s legs out of the way so that he could close his door.

Both men were taken to the hospital, where the resident told Evans he had feared for his life, and where Beasley declined to stay anything related to the incident.

Curtis said Beasley did not seem intoxicated. Another officer testified that Beasley “appeared incoherent,” referring to himself by the name Zeno, but said it was “hard to say” if Beasley was under the influence.

Beasley waived his right to a speedy trial Wednesday as his attorney, Angela Keck, expressed interest in getting him into a drug and alcohol treatment center. Judge Donovan set Beasley’s next court appearance as a status conference on Oct. 20.

According to Kansas Department of Corrections records, Beasley has a history of multiple drug convictions, burglary and criminal threat, and he reportedly had absconded from his post-release supervision on Feb. 19, 2024, after being released from prison earlier in Douglas County. He was previously an inmate at Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility.