A judge denied a request to modify the bond for a man charged in a recent shooting in downtown Lawrence. His attorney argued he was acting in self-defense, but the prosecutor said eyewitness testimony doesn’t corroborate that.
Victor Gabriel Moreno, 23, of Lawrence, was killed early Sunday, Oct. 18, in the 700 block of New Hampshire Street.
Police arrested Daileon Thomas, 23, of Olathe, and he was charged with intentional second-degree murder, a level-1, or high-severity, felony. Thomas has been in custody since Monday, Oct. 19.
During his first court appearance, the judge set Thomas’ bond at $500,000. That means he would likely have to pay a bond agency $50,000 to be released from jail while the case against him is pending.
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Thomas appeared before Douglas County District Judge Stacey Donovan Thursday to request a bond modification.
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Thomas’ court-appointed attorney, Branden Smith, filed a motion Wednesday to modify the bond to a $500,000 own-recognizance bond, or OR bond. A judge can grant an OR bond if they determine a defendant isn’t a risk to the community. The defendant is released from custody with various conditions, and they are required to attend all court dates and not leave the area.
Smith argued that an OR bond would be appropriate because Thomas has no prior felony conviction and allegedly shot his gun in self-defense, among other points.
Prosecutor Eve Kemple said that eyewitness testimony doesn’t corroborate a self-defense argument. She said a witness told detectives that Thomas went to a vehicle, removed a firearm, pointed it at Moreno and shot in the middle of a “scuffle.”
“The defendant is mindful of the seriousness of the charge against him,” Smith wrote in the bond modification request from Wednesday. “However, the circumstances described in the State’s own probable cause affidavit are those of a defense of self and of others, not a murder.”
The probable cause affidavit has not been publicly released. Affidavits are documents written by law enforcement officers to support charges in a case. The allegations they contain have not been proved in court.
Smith said that, according to the affidavit, Thomas was working at his mother’s food truck in the 711 New Hampshire parking lot early on Oct. 18.
“He did not know the decedent or anyone with him,” Smith wrote.
A fight allegedly broke out in an external group when two women started fighting. An eyewitness said that men in the group joined the fight “because they thought men were fighting the women,” according to the motion.
A food truck employee allegedly saw a man in that group push a woman to the ground and went to intervene. Detectives think that man was Moreno, according to the motion. The employee was reportedly put in a chokehold and punched in the back of the head multiple times, but the motion doesn’t make it clear who was attacking the employee.
Thomas got out of the truck to help the employee and was also attacked, according to the motion.
“He was punched in the face from behind, went to the ground, and was punched and kicked by several men while he curled up to protect his face,” Smith wrote.
An eyewitness told detectives he saw two or three people hitting Thomas, who was on the ground. Thomas got up, and the affidavit says he continued to fight as the man police believed to be Moreno moved closer toward him. At that point, a “single shot was fired,” the bond motion reads.
Thomas reportedly told the other food truck employee “that he fired because he was in fear,” the bond motion reads.
Kemple contradicted this account and said an OR bond would put Thomas under house arrest with his mother in Olathe. However, his mother is a material witness in the case, and Kemple said house arrest would not prevent Thomas from speaking to her and other family witnesses about the case.
Smith said the witnesses Kemple referenced have already made statements to the police, so they would know if Thomas influences them to later give a different report.
“I can tell you this case is probably going to take a while,” Smith said, citing 799 items in discovery.
Kemple said the number is due to a thorough investigation with “overwhelming evidence against the defendant.”
When Donovan denied the motion, she said Smith could ask the court to reconsider the bond request after a future hearing with witness testimony.
Donovan did approve one modification allowing Thomas to speak to his mother as long as they don’t discuss the case. All of their conversations while he’s in custody will be recorded and available for review.
“He needs somebody he can talk to while he’s in custody, some family member,” Smith said. “He’s very close with his mom.”
Thomas will be on the docket at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24 to set his next hearing.
Defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless they are convicted.
A friend of Moreno’s family started a GoFundMe to support his 4-year-old son, Valentino.
According to the donation page, money will go to Moreno’s adoptive father, Cliff Phillips, for memorialization costs. The rest will go to a 529 education savings account for Valentino’s “future educational and developmental expenses.”
Phillips said Moreno meant the world to him. He knew Moreno since he was a baby, and said Valentino looks just like his dad.
“Family and friends would certainly like to see that justice gets done,” he said.
The GoFundMe had raised more than $29,000 as of publication time.
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Jacob Rice / Lawrence TimesJudge won’t change bond for man charged in downtown Lawrence homicide; attorney argues self-defense
Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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Jacob Rice / Lawrence TimesJudge won’t change bond for man charged in downtown Lawrence homicide; attorney argues self-defense
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