(KNZA)--An August 28 preliminary hearing is set for a Willis man facing multiple charges in three separate Brown County cases, dating back to 2018.

In the first case, 20-year-old Anthony Lay was charged in late December with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, three misdemeanor counts and two traffic infractions stemming from a December 28 high speed chase on U.S. 73 Highway in Brown County.  

In the second case, Lay was charged in January of this year with a felony count of rape.

The charge was filed following an investigation by the Hiawatha Police Department.

A third case filed in April charges Lay with one count of felony theft, three counts of misdemeanor theft, and a felony count of criminal possession of a firearm.

The charges stem from the theft of tires and rims from Armstrong Tire, in rural Muscotah.

He was arrested in January following a joint investigation by the Atchison and Brown County Sheriff’s Departments.

Lay pleaded guilty in April in Atchison County District Court to two counts of  burglary and one count of felony theft in connection with a scheme to rip-off the Atchison County tire dealership.  In exchange for the plea, additional counts were dismissed.   He was sentenced to prison in May.

According to online court records, Lay was transferred from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility to the Brown County Jail, in July, to face the charges in the Brown County cases.