A judge on Friday denied a Topeka man found guilty of first-degree murder his request for a retrial.

Nicholas Laron Beaver, 34, was found guilty in July in the shooting of Vincent Lee Walker. The shooting took place March 6, 2024 at the bus stop in the 700 block of Vermont Street, near the Lawrence Public Library.

Walker, 39, was familiar to many in the community, including many library staff members, Lawrence’s police chief said after the shooting.

He was a musician who performed under the name V-Dubb, and according to his obituary, he was a father of three and a brother to seven siblings.

Regina Rene James, Walker’s sister, said she came straight from work to the courthouse on Friday. She was with a group of family members who expected to speak at the hearing as it was scheduled as Beaver’s sentencing.

But they will have to return in December, and there was not enough time left Friday after the judge heard two motions, and a presentence investigation into Beaver’s criminal history won’t be completed for a few more weeks.

Describing the legal process as draining, James said she and her family are ready to close this chapter.

“He (Walker) wanted to be on the stage so bad, but he never got the chance,” James said.

“It’s crazy how you want to be a rapper so bad and then you get killed, and you got an audience watching you get killed. That sucks, you know, and it bothered me for a while. But I’m at the point to where I just want my brother to rest and just get it over with. I’m ready.”

During the hearing Friday, Razmi Tahirkheli, Beaver’s court-appointed attorney, argued in favor of a retrial based on three points.

He said the former lead prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald, had told the jury to listen closer to a piece of audio during the trial for words that weren’t there and that Greenwald also set an unrealistic expectation of premeditation.

Lastly, and the “most egregious,” the state used Beaver’s fifth amendment right against him, Tahirkheli said.

Devin Canfield, assistant district attorney, disputed Tahirkheli’s arguments. He also said courts are urged to exercise caution when considering a retrial.

After hearing from both sides, Judge Stacey Donovan took a recess to deliberate for around 30 minutes.

Ultimately, Donovan ruled there were no sufficient errors and denied both the motion for judgment of acquittal and the motion for a retrial. The court did not violate the case law Tahirkheli referenced in relation to Beaver’s right to silence, and the jury was briefed on lesser charges than first-degree murder that were available, she said.

According to testimony during Beaver’s preliminary hearing in October 2024, Walker had been arguing loudly with a man who had thrown Walker’s food on the sidewalk. As friends of the men broke up that scuffle, a man on a bicycle who had been traveling south on Vermont exchanged words with Walker.

One witness testified that he was waiting for a bus and witnessed Walker telling the man on the bike never to talk to him again. The man on the bicycle initially began to ride away, but he instead confronted Walker again.

After looking at videos from cameras in the block where the shooting occurred and comparing it to images of Beaver from a separate incident, detectives used clothing and other evidence collected to identify Beaver as a suspect. Beaver’s DNA was found on the gun used in the shooting, according to testimony from the October 2024 hearing.

Beaver is originally from Topeka but had been staying for a brief time in Lawrence prior to his arrest in this case. He remains in the custody of the Douglas County jail.

His sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17.

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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