Kansas’ LAWRENCE (CSU) – A man who was arrested for shooting at and killing two individuals at homes that were miles apart served time in jail for drug possession and violent assault, among other offences.
The man’s name was made public by Lawrence Police on Sunday evening, but KCTV5 has a rule that suspects are not named until they are charged in court. The 51-year-old is being held in the Douglas County jail while charges are pending.
An extensive law enforcement presence, including a bomb and arson team, was present earlier in the day at a duplex at 3419 Harvard Road close to Kasold Drive. According to arrest records, one of the two units there was home to the suspect.
Moving into the other apartment were Colton Denk and Lauren McGovern. Due to the crime scene, they had to postpone their move’s second day on Sunday. On Saturday, they began unloading their first truckload of belongings and met the man they believed would be their new neighbour.
“He exited with no shirt on and numerous hand sutures. His arms were bruised, and he was wearing a bandage. He, I could just tell, was not thinking clearly. He claimed to have recently left the hospital, Denk said.
He and McGovern attributed it to the heat and perhaps certain hospital-associated drugs. They would be completely unaware of what would occur a few hours later.
The Lawrence Police Department’s communications manager Laura McCabe has supplied the following summary of what happened throughout the course of the night.
Police were summoned to a residence at 1115 Tennessee around 1 in the am on Sunday due to a shooting. They discovered a shot 53-year-old male. Later, he passed away at a hospital.
A gunfire call was received shortly after that 911 call at a duplex about 2.5 miles away from the original address. At 325 Northwood Lane, a 43-year-old man was discovered shot to death.
Police searched for a suspect all night long. A chase through the town and onto K-10 ensued when they finally caught up to the man and attempted to stop him at around 6 a.m.
Out of his window, he opened fire on the chasing policemen on the highway. They were unharmed. Police in Eudora used stop sticks to aid in apprehending the suspect.
Convictions for crimes in Clay County, Kansas, are documented in records from the Kansas Department of Corrections. West of Douglas County, there are a number of counties.
He was found guilty in 2009 of three different 2008 offences: criminal threat in October, aggravated assault in August, and possession of drugs in February.
He was found guilty once more in 2015 for a drug possession violation from 2012. In 2017, he finished serving his sentence and was released from custody.
The couple that moved into the unit next to his claimed that everything about it was unnerving.
“I’m very scared because it might have been us that he just arbitrarily decided to kill,” added McGovern.
Whether or not the police think the alleged shooter knew either victim, McCabe said they think he acted alone. A portion of McCabe’s statement that was posted on the department’s social media pages is as follows.
This case encompasses numerous law enforcement agencies, numerous locations, two victims, and the attempted murder of numerous officers. We won’t be disclosing any specifics at this time in an effort to guarantee that all information is true, but we do recognise the public’s interest and worry, so we will continue to keep you informed as things develop. We are absolutely certain that this suspect acted alone, there is no longer a threat to the public, and the LKPD officers who were shot at have immediate access to all of our support resources.
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