A 19-year-old Lawrence man will stand trial for first-degree murder after prosecutors said his childhood friend was shot in the back seven times — evidence they said showed the shooter planned to kill.

Cir Allen Keith Glover was originally charged with second-degree murder in connection with the June 13 death of Isaiah Neal, 17, who was shot outside of his family’s townhome in the 2400 block of Alabama. However, District Court Judge Stacey Donovan on Wednesday agreed with prosecutors that there was enough evidence to move forward with a first-degree charge.

Mariah Hall, who said Glover is her son’s dad, testified on Wednesday that Isaiah had pistol whipped her just days before the shooting. Hall, 18, said the incident stemmed from a trip to a fast-food restaurant. Hall said she had accompanied Isaiah and some of his friends to McDonald’s, where she paid for the group’s food.

Hall said that after the group returned home, she complained about having to pay for everyone and called the group “broke,” which angered Isaiah.

“He attacked me,” Hall testified. “He ran up on me and started fighting me.”

Hall said she had a fracture to her face. Although she later spoke with Glover about the incident, she said she didn’t believe the assault caused a level of animosity between Glover and Isaiah that would have resulted in a shooting.

“Obviously he (Glover) was upset, but he wasn’t going to do anything,” Hall said.

She said she’d told police that Glover had texted her that he and Isaiah had “got into some stuff.”

Wednesday was the second day of Glover’s preliminary hearing, which began last week. Prosecutors asked Donovan to hold the hearing over two days to accommodate Lawrence police Detective Nathan Haig, who was out of town last week. Haig was the lead detective investigating the shooting.

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Hall was in custody during her testimony after failing to appear during the first day of the preliminary hearing. She was released after completing her testimony.

Isaiah’s mother, Natasha Neal, testified last week that Glover came to her house just before 1 a.m. on June 13 to visit with her son. Although the two had been friends since childhood, they had not been on good terms since the incident Hall testified about on Wednesday.

On the night of the shooting, Glover and Isaiah had been in an upstairs bedroom when a single gunshot was fired. No one was injured. The two teens called it an accident, but Natasha told Glover he had been disrespectful, and she ordered him to leave. Isaiah followed Glover outside but returned quickly.

Several minutes later, Isaiah left the house again. At 1:18 a.m., the sound of eight gunshots was captured by a surveillance camera at an apartment complex adjacent to Isaiah’s home.

According to police, Isaiah was found “riddled with bullets” lying against a fence along a walkway leading to the back of the home.

Isaiah was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Haig testified that he was one of several investigators who canvassed the area around the scene of the crime for traffic cameras or homes and businesses with video surveillance.

After spending several hours with family members at the hospital, Haig said police identified Glover as a main suspect in the shooting.

“One of the main things we were trying to do at the time was locate Cir once his name was mentioned,” Haig said.

Law enforcement reportedly reviewed video from multiple sources, enabling investigators to track the movements of a person who appeared to match Glover’s description.

In court Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald played footage from a traffic camera showing a person dressed in black running south near 25th Street and Belle Haven Drive, about one block southeast of the shooting. Video shown in court last week showed footage from cameras on the grounds of Broken Arrow Elementary and Billy Mills Middle schools.

The first video featured a person matching the same description running past the north side of the complex. Moments later, an infrared camera also on school grounds recorded a person who appears to be carrying a handgun as he walks toward the camera.

Although the infrared camera distorts colors, stills taken from the video appear to show a person with dark facial hair carrying what Haig called an “item consistent with a firearm.” The video appears to show discoloration on the handle.

Haig testified that family members had told investigators that Isaiah possessed a handgun, and had carried it outside with him when he followed Glover outside of his house on June 13.

Evidence collected from Isaiah’s social media accounts included a video of Isaiah displaying a gun with a light-colored rubber band wrapped multiple times around the handle.

Haig attempted to replicate the school video footage by dressing in dark clothing and carrying a coworker’s gun with a rubber band on the handle. In court, prosecutors showed Haig’s reenactment and displayed a still image showing discoloration on the gun’s handle similar to what was scene in the video collected from June 13.

Social media exchanges among Glover, Isaiah and Hall were also a focus of the investigation.

Prosecutors displayed Snapchat messages between Glover and Isaiah on the evening of June 13 that appeared to show Glover wanting to purchase Isaiah’s “30 stick,” a term referring to a gun and the size of magazine it will hold.

In another message several minutes later, Glover tells Isaiah that he is delayed coming to his house because he is meeting with someone to make a purchase.

“Gon do one purchase off dude to gain his trust,” Glover says in a message sent at 9:42 p.m. “And then go and get the rest of inventory 100% discount.”

Haig said investigators interpreted that to mean Glover was planning to steal something from the unidentified seller.

Police did not find a gun at the scene of the shooting. However, casings found on the ground at the scene of the shooting had the same headstamps as more than 60 bullets found in a plastic bag in Isaiah’s bedroom.

Haig said tests for gunshot residue taken from Glover approximately 30 hours after the shooting showed a few particles on each of Glover’s hands as well as his face. He did not elaborate on the quantity of GSR, or whether all three elements investigators seek with the test — lead, barium and antimony — were detected.

Haig said Glover had declined to speak with investigators.

Defense attorney Michael Clarke did not present any defense witnesses during the hearing but questioned whether investigators had looked at all possible suspects in the case. He also asked how police translate slang in messages.

Clarke said prosecutors produced no eyewitnesses, DNA or fingerprints. Although it is not a requirement to move forward with a trial, Clarke also said prosecutors had failed to present any motive or reason why Glover would shoot Isaiah.

“Mere association with someone can’t possibly be enough to bind someone over for second-degree murder, let alone first-degree murder,” Clarke said.

Greenwald said the autopsy report showed there was no stippling near Isaiah’s gunshot wounds, indicating that the shots were not fired at close range. Greenwald said Isaiah was shot in the back seven times, and another bullet had grazed his hip. Greenwald said the evidence suggested that Glover had used Isaiah’s gun to kill him and fled the scene with it.

Greenwald reasserted that no motive was required for a judge to find enough evidence to bind a suspect over for trial. In his arguments, he told Donovan that evidence presented during the preliminary hearing was enough not only for Glover to go to trial, but also for amending the charge from second- to first-degree murder.

As she made her ruling, Donovan explained to Glover that prosecutors only have to prove probable cause during a preliminary hearing, unlike a trial that requires evidence to prove a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

“It is not the same level of proof that needs to be provided in a jury trial,” Donovan said.

Senior Assistant DA Ricardo Leal is assisting Greenwald in the prosecution.

Glover’s next appearance is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, where he is scheduled to be arraigned on the amended charge. Glover remains in custody of the Douglas County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless they are convicted.

Andrea Albright (she/her), reporter, can be reached at aalbright (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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