Myers enters plea on amended charge in fall 2015 shooting
An Ozawkie man originally charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with an alleged shooting incident in Holton last fall has pleaded no contest to a pair of reduced charges on Friday in Jackson County District Court.
During a Friday afternoon hearing, Joshua J. Myers, 24, entered no contest pleas on charges of aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a weapon at an occupied building in the alleged Oct. 23, 2015 incident in which he reportedly fired a handgun at a Holton resident.
Jackson County District Court Judge Norbert Marek accepted Myers’ pleas and set a sentencing date of Friday, Sept. 23 in district court. Marek also accepted Topeka defense attorney Thomas G. Lemon’s request for modification of bond and told Myers it is possible that he may receive probation rather than a prison sentence on the charges.
“You’d have to be crazy to do anything to mess things up,” Marek told Myers, noting that a three-day trial on the attempted murder charge, originally set to begin Tuesday, Sept. 13, has been “taken out of setting.”
The attempted intentional second-degree murder charge stemmed from the October 2015 incident in which Myers reportedly fired a gun on the Holton resident.
Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller said Myers, in what “was certainly a reckless act,” later indicated to law enforcement that he did fire the gun at the resident.
Lemon replied that the victim said he did not believe himself to be in danger and also “said he thought it was just a warning shot.” He also noted that Myers, who was employed in Holton and in the National Guard at the time of the incident, was no longer employed or in the Guard.
“He doesn’t have any connections to Holton, and frankly, he doesn’t want to come up here,” Lemon said.
Myers, who was freed on a $250,000 own recognizance bond three days after the incident, was also ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitoring bracelet and remain on house arrest as conditions of his bond. Marek granted Lemon's request to throw out the last two bond conditions, with Lemon noting that Myers “has been perfectly compliant for 10 months” with the conditions.
Both the criminal discharge and aggravated assault charges are listed as level 7 person felonies, with sentencing ranges of 11 to 30 months in prison, as well as eligibility for presumptive probation, Marek said.
