A man charged with the March shooting death of a local musician was bound over for trial Friday afternoon after multiple people at the scene described witnessing the incident.

Nicholas Laron Beaver, 33, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 39-year-old Vincent Lee Walker, who performed under the name V-Dubb. Walker was killed on March 6 at the bus stop in the 700 block of Vermont Street.

Beaver, who is originally from Topeka but had been staying for a brief time in Lawrence prior to his arrest, is also charged with battery, a Class B misdemeanor, for allegedly “unlawfully and knowingly caus(ing) physical contact with another person done in a rude, insulting, or angry manner.” Court documents list Kenneth Wiles Jr. as the victim in that case.

According to testimony during a preliminary hearing on Friday, 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.

Estee Galloway testified that he was waiting for a bus on March 6 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 instead confronted Walker again.

“The guy turned back around,” Galloway said. “I took my eye off of him, and I heard bam, bam, bam. Vincent fell.”

Ward Slocum testified that he was driving south on Vermont Street when he noticed a group of five to six people gathered on the east side of the street. He said initially the gathering seemed normal, but within a few seconds he heard “two to three” gunshots.

“Things kind of went a different direction as I watched,” Slocum said. “They were having a conversation, then all of a sudden, a gun was pulled out.”

Slocum, who said he was an avid hunter and outdoorsman, identified the gun as a stainless steel “automatic style pistol.”

Additional witnesses testified that after the shooting, the suspect “pistol whipped” Wiles before getting back on his bicycle and continuing south on Vermont.

Police who were called to the scene testified to finding Walker shot in the abdomen and lying on the ground being held by a woman. They attempted to resuscitate Walker, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“A lady got down and put his head in her lap, but you could see there was nothing there and he was gone,” Galloway said. “Everybody was crying.”

Investigators received multiple tips from bystanders and witnesses, and quickly used social media to solicit additional information.

Steven Malone testified that on the evening of the shooting, he and his wife were at Advance Auto Parts, 1501 W. Sixth St., when they were approached by a man seeking a lighter. After offering him a BIC lighter featuring bright colors and a pineapple, the man began asking for additional items and telling Malone what had happened.

Malone said the man asked for a spare pair of shoes and showed him a pair of black and white athletic shoes in a bag he was carrying. The man told Malone that he had recently been in an argument with a person who had spit in his face. He told Malone he had shot the man.

“Word for word he said he shot him ‘pow, pow, pow,’” Malone testified.

The man also told Malone that he had abandoned a bicycle in the area and that he was planning to leave town on a bus. Malone said he brushed off the comments as a “homeless guy rant” and told him he could keep the lighter.

Malone said soon after the encounter he began hearing sirens and seeing emergency responders in the area. Out of curiosity, his wife used a police scanner phone app indicating police were looking for a shooting suspect who appeared to match the description of the man Malone had spoken with.

“After hearing that I had no choice but to call this in and see if it was a thing,” he said.

Based on video showing the direction the suspect headed after the shooting and information gathered from Malone and other witnesses, investigators followed what they believed to be the suspect’s path. Lawrence police with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms began searching the area west of the shooting scene.

LPD Detective David Garcia testified that in the hours after the incident, law enforcement located multiple items matching those used and worn by the suspect including a gun, a black BMX-style bicycle, a jacket, and shoes with the same coloring as those Malone saw in the man’s bag. They also located a package of ammunition and a yellow bracelet with the word “Tuesday” on it, which is reportedly like bracelets used for identification at the Lawrence Community Shelter.

Garcia said police contacted the shelter and learned that a man fitting Beaver’s description had dropped a gun on the floor of the Lawrence Community Shelter the night before the shooting but left before police arrived. Video from that incident showed Beaver wearing a hat that appeared to match one dropped by the shooter as he fled the scene the next day.

Investigators canvassing the area after the shooting located Beaver near Ninth and Iowa streets about 90 minutes after the shooting but released him after questioning. After looking at videos from cameras in the 700 block of Vermont and comparing it to images of Beaver from the shelter the night before, detectives used the clothing and other evidence collected to identify Beaver as a suspect.

Beaver was arrested within hours of the shooting. During a search, police confiscated a multicolored BIC lighter featuring a pineapple.

Crime scene investigators Jana Ramsey and Detective George Baker both testified Friday about the casings and additional items collected at the scene of the shooting as well as the evidence discovered in the adjacent area.

Ramsey said multiple items were sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for analysis. The handgun and three cartridges were submitted seeking fingerprints and a DNA comparison to samples collected from Beaver. DNA comparisons were also sought from the bicycle handlebars as well as the lock used to secure it to a light pole near the scene of the shooting. A KBI report submitted into evidence stated that samples from both the bicycle and the gun produced a match.

“It says the major DNA profile is consistent with the DNA of Nicholas Beaver,” Baker read in court.

Bullets and casings sent to the KBI were also to determined to have been fired from the gun with Beaver’s DNA.

Beaver is being represented by court-appointed attorneys Razmi Tahirkheli and Angela Trimble. Tahirkheli attempted to raise questions about information from bystanders and law enforcement who testified Friday.

He questioned witnesses about their memories of the shooting and their ability to identify the shooter. Although other witnesses were able to describe the suspect in a way that didn’t exclude Beaver, Malone was the only person to specifically identify Beaver in the courtroom.

Tahirkheli asked Garcia how police determined what area to search and whether police used public radio channels to discuss descriptions of the shooter. Garcia said he couldn’t testify as to what officers said on the radio. He explained that investigators used video, witnesses and information given by Beaver when he was first detained by police.

Tahirkheli also asked whether clothing and a lighter were enough to identify someone as a suspect. He cited Beaver’s statement to police that he had gone to a retail store on Sixth Street earlier in the evening, and asked Garcia if they had checked what was purchased.

“Did you go to the Dollar General to see if they have lighters like that?” Tahirkheli asked Garcia.

“No,” Garcia answered.

Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald and Assistant DA Samantha Foster are prosecuting the case.

District Judge Stacey Donovan denied Greenwald’s motion to elevate the charge against Beaver to first-degree murder.

In May, the district attorney’s office filed five misdemeanor counts of criminal use of a financial card against Beaver, charging that he unlawfully used a stolen credit card multiple times on March 3 to purchase a variety of items from grocery, convenience and retail stores in the downtown Lawrence area. Greenwald said the state plans to file a motion to combine the five misdemeanors with the murder case.

Beaver remains in custody at the Douglas County jail held on a $1 million cash or surety bond.

All 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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