photo by: Photo courtesy of the Kansas Department of Corrections

Ronald D. Walters is pictured with the Douglas County Law Enforcement and Judicial Center.

A Lawrence man was sentenced to more than a year in prison Wednesday in connection with an incident in which he allegedly beat a man with a hammer and tried to run over two sheriff’s deputies.

Ronald Dwane Walters, 51, of Lawrence, pleaded no contest in October to a felony charge as part of a plea deal in which the state dismissed two felony counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and one felony count of criminal damage. An additional count of aggravated assault was dismissed by the court after the alleged victim of the hammer attack failed to appear in court to testify.

The charges relate to an incident on April 28, 2024, at a rural residence in the 1200 block of 1900 Road near Eudora, as the Journal-World previously reported.

Judge Amy Hanley said Walters had an extensive criminal record and sentenced him to 16 months in prison. She said Walters could be eligible for 20 percent time off while in custody at the Kansas Department of Corrections, under state law.

Walters had been free on $20,000 bond and was taken into custody after the hearing.

According to court records, Walters has numerous other convictions over the years for multiple misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor battery charges in Douglas and Franklin counties.