Judge grants probation to man with seven prior person felonies

Senior Judge Nancy Parrish made one of the most striking sentencing calls Douglas County has seen in years, putting Steven Carl Drake II on probation despite seven prior person felonies and the worst criminal history score Kansas can assign. Parrish said the hearing was “a particularly difficult sentencing” and said she could not remember ever making a similar decision before, a remark that underlined how far she was willing to depart from the usual prison-first result.

The ruling matters because Kansas sentencing law is built around presumptive outcomes. Judges generally sentence by severity level and criminal history, and they must impose the presumptive sentence unless they find substantial and compelling reasons to depart. When they do depart, appellate rules require them to state those reasons on the record. In cases like Drake’s, Kansas Supreme Court Rule 1802 also calls for a risk-and-needs assessment within 45 days if probation is granted where prison would otherwise be presumptive.

Drake’s record helps explain why the sentence drew attention. On March 18, 2026, he was convicted in Douglas County of attempted aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police and criminal damage to property, all tied to a 13-count complaint that originally included nine felony charges and four misdemeanors. The state had sought 59 months in prison. Court records and earlier reporting also detailed three chase episodes: a Feb. 3, 2022 pursuit that ended in crashes into multiple cars and a shed, a Jan. 15, 2024 incident in which he allegedly rammed a patrol car, and an Aug. 26, 2024 chase that ended with a collision with a deputy’s vehicle, a run across the levee trail in North Lawrence and destruction of a fire hydrant.

Defense attorney Angela Keck told the court Drake had already served 20 months in jail, worked two jobs, had achieved sobriety and was doing well on new medications. She also said he was supporting his family, including an adult son with schizophrenia. Prosecutor Megan Ahsens took the opposite view, pointing to 31 separate entries in Drake’s presentence investigation report and arguing he had spent much of his adult life in and out of jail and prison. Ahsens called the state’s earlier plea deal “an amazingly good” and “extraordinarily generous” deal.

The decision lands in a county where judges do sometimes give probation in serious cases, but Parrish’s own comment suggests this one stood apart. For Douglas County residents watching repeat-offender cases, the question is whether this was a justified exception based on Drake’s circumstances or a warning sign about how uneven sentencing can become when public safety, rehabilitation and judicial discretion collide.