Lake Shawnee search turns up no evidence in Brown homicide case

An underwater search Monday of an area on the west side of Lake Shawnee for evidence related to the slaying of Corey M. Brown didn’t yield what detectives hoped to find, a Topeka police official said Tuesday.

Capt. Brian Desch said the Douglas County Underwater Search and Recovery Team came up with junk and “a lot of rods and reels” but nothing of note.

“We did not find any (evidence) that we were looking for,” Desch said, declining to disclose what in particular authorities were seeking.

The operation went from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Desch said, and the dive team didn’t return Tuesday. The possibility remains to return and search primarily the same general area, he said, as detectives continue to look at other parts of the case.

“If we do go back out there it will probably be fairly soon, within the next few days,” Desch said.

Monroe Eugene Lockhart III, 40, has been charged with the January 2012 fatal shooting of the 39-year-old Brown — the tandem described in previous Topeka Capital-Journal articles as lifelong friends and business partners.

Lockhart, who is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated arson in the Brown matter, is serving a nearly 10-year sentence for a conviction this year in a violent home invasion.

Desch said the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, which provided its dive team as Shawnee County doesn’t have one, still has knowledge of and is assisting in the fatal shooting investigation.

Desch said anytime there is a homicide, such as the Brown case, even when a suspect has been arrested and charged, detectives still will follow up on leads.

In the time since Lockhart was charged Friday, Desch said, Topeka police obtained new information that prompted the Lake Shawnee search. He declined to discuss how the information came about.

“We just want to build as strong a case as we possibly can for the prosecution,” Desch said.