A judge on Thursday found a Lawrence man guilty of interference with law enforcement after the 2023 shooting death of a Lawrence teen.
Owen Gage Walker, 20, pleaded no contest to interfering with the police investigation into Kamarjay Shaw’s death.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal on Thursday said that Walker on March 19, 2023 knowingly reported false information to police with intent to impede their investigation.
Kamarjay, 14, was shot and killed in Lawrence on March 18, 2023, and no one has been ultimately held responsible.
Derrick D. Reed, 19, was charged with first-degree murder, and a jury acquitted him on March 13, 2024. A judge agreed in October to allow the case record to be expunged.
Evidence at Reed’s trial pointed to Walker being friends with Reed and present with him during and directly after the shooting. Walker was absent and had an outstanding warrant during the trial, and Lawrence Police Department investigators said they were unable to locate him, though they had interviewed him shortly after the shooting.
Walker’s absence was a key point that Reed’s attorney, Mark Hartman, had emphasized in his closing argument to jurors. Although Hartman pointed to Walker as a possible alternate suspect in the shooting, police said their investigation led them to conclude that Reed was their suspect, and forensic testing found no gunshot residue on Walker.
Walker’s hearing on Thursday was originally scheduled as a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors would present evidence supporting the charge against him and the judge would determine whether the case should proceed.
However, he entered a plea agreement, which Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny said would result in a reduced sentence of 12 months of probation. The charge is a level-9, or very low-severity, felony.
Sitting next to his attorney, Jessica Glendening, chief public defender for Douglas County, Walker waived his right to the preliminary hearing and a jury trial.
Hartman had been subpoenaed to testify Thursday, but no witnesses were called.
On Jan. 7, 2025, Walker called to turn himself in and LPD arrested him and took him into custody. He was released from the jail on a $25,000 surety bond the same day, jail records indicate.
Walker’s sentencing hearing is set for 4 p.m. Thursday, May 1.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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