Myers' prison sentence delayed for college courses

A two-year prison sentence for an Ozawkie man convicted in con­nection with an alleged shooting incident in Holton last fall has been delayed so that the man may finish his current semester of college.

Jackson County District Court Judge Norbert Marek noted the ef­forts of Joshua J. Myers, 24, to get his life back on track after the al­leged Oct. 23, 2015 incident in which he reportedly fired a hand­gun at a Holton resident.

However, Marek noted that since the charges of aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building reportedly involved the use of a handgun by Myers, state law requires presump­tive prison rather than probation for the two charges.

Marek gave Myers consecutive 12-month prison sentences on each charge — reduced from the original charge of attempted second-degree murder — and ordered him to sur­render to the Jackson County Sher­iff’s Office on Oct. 3 to begin his prison sentence.

Myers’ attorney, Thomas G. Lemon of Topeka, told Marek that Myers was in the midst of the fall semester at Washburn University, where he is currently taking 12 credit hours, and asked the judge to delay the prison term so that Myers could finish the semester, since he had already paid for the courses he was taking. Marek agreed to delay the surrender date until Dec. 30, noting that condi­tions of Myers’ bond would remain in place.

“I honestly believe you won’t commit another crime in your life,” the judge told Myers. “I see you trying to set yourself up for a future leadership role, but you need to make sure that the people you lead know that you can’t do this stuff.”

The charges against Myers stemmed from the October 2015 incident in which Myers reportedly fired a gun at the Holton resident, with Lemon noting that Myers was, at that time, dealing with “a love interest with a child and an ex-boyfriend who tried to insert him­self violently into their relation­ship.”

Myers, who had no criminal history prior to the incident, had admitted after the incident that he fired a 9mm pistol at the resident, but only as a “warning shot” — a comment the resident also made when talking with law enforce­ment, Lemon said.

Three days after Myers was ar­rested and charged with attempted second-degree murder, he was freed on a $250,000 own recogni­zance bond. Lemon said Myers has since been working to make amends, taking on the Washburn classes and working part-time while remaining compliant with the conditions of his bond.

While Marek encouraged Myers to continue to get his life back on track, the judge noted that Myers was still illegally in possession of a firearm at the time of the incident and added that Myers could have left the scene rather than fire the gun at the Holton resident.

“This isn’t the Wild West,” Marek said. “People like you are what ruin the Second Amendment for the rest of us.”

Myers’ prison sentence also in­cludes a 20-percent “good time” provision, as well as a requirement that he sign up as a registered of­fender for 15 years after his release from prison.