Bond set at $1 million for Monroe Lockhart

Bond was set at $1 million Monday for Monroe Eugene Lockhart III, who is charged in the January 2012 shooting death of Corey M. Brown.

Meanwhile, a Douglas County Underwater Search and Recovery Team on Monday was searching an area on the west side of Lake Shawnee for evidence tied to Brown’s shooting.

Lockhart, 40, was charged with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated arson Friday afternoon. He remained at the Shawnee County Jail on Monday. Lockhart’s bond was set at $1 million during his first appearance Monday, and the court conditionally appointed Linda Eckelman as his defense attorney.

A criminal assignment docket has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Oct. 10.

Lockhart remains incarcerated on a nearly 10-year sentence after he was convicted earlier this year in a violent home invasion in which a Topeka woman was burned with a red-hot knife blade and beaten.

As of noon Monday, the divers at Lake Shawnee had retrieved several lawn chairs, fishing poles, old bottles and cans, as well as two computer towers. It is unknown if the computer equipment is linked to the homicide case.

Topeka police Det. Adam Arensdorf said the dive team was requested by the Topeka Police Department, as Shawnee County doesn’t have its own dive team. The team likely will search the lake until the search area has been cleared, he said.

In a news conference Friday, Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor said Brown, 39, was shot on the grounds of White Lakes Mall before his body was moved to Douglas County.

The location of the shooting changed the jurisdiction of the homicide from Douglas County, where the victim’s body was found, to Shawnee County, where the victim was shot.

Officials haven’t elaborated on how Brown’s body was transported from Topeka to Douglas County.

The arson charge is tied to the burning of Lockhart’s 2004 Cadillac DeVille on Jan. 3, 2012. It was found burning at 4400 N.E. Seward Ave., and a Topeka Fire Department investigator said the car had been intentionally burned. Lockhart reported the vehicle stolen Jan. 4.

Lt. Steve Lewis, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said the Douglas County dive team members often are called to assist other counties. He also said officers worked hard on the Brown homicide.

“It’s always nice to see hard work coming to a positive end,” Lewis said of Lockhart’s arrest in the Brown homicide.

Lockhart was arrested Feb. 2, 2012, in connection with a 2011 violent home invasion. He was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for his role. The home invasion was payback for the theft of 35 cartons of cigarettes and a laptop computer from Lockhart’s business, Mo’s Express, then at S.E. 17th and Adams.

During the trial, the two home invasion victims testified they and a third person stole the cigarettes and laptop from Mo’s Express.

Jurors convicted Lockhart of:

¦ Aggravated burglary of a mobile home at 1919 S.E. Adams on Nov. 10, 2011, with the intent to commit an aggravated assault.

¦ Aggravated assault for brandishing a semiautomatic pistol at Caleb Mikel Russell.

¦ Aggravated battery for punching, kicking and stomping Chrystal L. McGuire, who also was burned on the upper left arm and under the left breast.

¦ Making a criminal threat to kill Russell.

¦ Aggravated intimidation of Russell in an attempt to dissuade him from reporting the incident to police.

Eckelman represented Lockhart during that case, too.

Lockhart and Brown had been lifelong friends and business partners, according to previous Topeka Capital-Journal articles. Lockhart was the godfather of Brown’s two daughters, and Brown was about to become the godfather for Lockhart’s newborn daughter.

Brown was manager of Hudson Crossing properties, a developer of Hudson Crossing, and vice president of J&J Developers. Lockhart owned a 30 percent share of Mo’s Express.

Brown’s father, John Brown, is president of J&J Developers, which built Hudson Crossing.