(KAIR)--The preliminary hearing for a Leavenworth County man, already sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of a police officer in Wyandotte County, has been continued.

The Leavenworth Times reports that's due to Thursday's absence of the defense attorney for 30-year-old Curtis Ayers, of Tonganoxie.

Ayers, convicted of killing Police Detective Brad Lancaster in Kansas City, Kansas, is charged in Leavenworth County with aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The crimes were alleged to have been committed in Basehor on May 9, 2016, the same day that Lancaster was killed.

It's alleged that Ayers, after the murder, drove a stolen car to a Basehor residence, where he parked in a garage.

Inside the car were two children, who were passengers in the vehicle when stolen by Ayers.

Ayers is accused of entering the home and robbing a resident of the home at gunpoint, taking the keys to another vehicle, along with a sweatshirt and shoes.

He allegedly fled behind the wheel of the resident's vehicle, and was arrested later in Kansas City, Missouri.