Alleged Cop Killer ‘Ambushed’ Baltimore Officer Before Committing Another Murder Less Than 2 Hours Later, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels - February 28, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

“Two executions. Ninety minutes apart. Two different neighborhoods in Baltimore City.”

On Dec. 16, 2021, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Officer Keona Holley and Baltimore resident Justin Johnson were allegedly shot and killed by 34-year-old Elliot Marcus Knox while sitting in their cars, a prosecutor said at the start of Knox’s trial on Feb. 27.

The 39-year-old officer was sitting in the driver’s seat of her patrol car on the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue around 1 a.m. when she was ambushed.

“The ambush came from her left,” the prosecutor said during his opening statement. “…The evidence will show she barely had a split second to realize what was happening.”

The prosecutor told the jury that Holley was shot twice in her head, again, in her left hand—a possible attempt Holley may have made to shield herself from gunfire. Holley’s car then drove forward through a fence, down an embankment and into a nearby park.

Holley was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and removed from life support a week later.

The assistant state’s attorney noted that Knox’s alleged shooting spree continued around 3 a.m. on the 600 block of Lucia Avenue where BPD found Johnson with six gunshots to his back. The 38-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the prosecution, six shell casings from a single gun were found at the scene of Holley’s murder. However, ballistics evidence found at the scene on Lucia Avenue indicated there were two shooters, the other later allegedly identified as 34-year-old Travon Shaw.

Police found the suspected vehicle, a silver Hyundai Genesis, that same day and questioned Knox, whose statement was filled with hours of deception and lies, the prosecutor said on Tuesday. Knox allegedly admitted he and Shaw were responsible for shooting Holley and Johnson, but the prosecutor added it was “like pulling teeth to get there.”

Defense attorney Natalie Finegar was quick to dispute the prosecutor’s claims, saying there was no premeditation on Knox’s part indicating he was involved in the actual shooting. Instead, she said, Knox admitted to being an accessory after the fact, having not killed either victim.

“[Knox] goes and gets all of the pieces for [the police] and delivers [those pieces] to them,” Finegar explained, saying the police said Knox was helpful during the investigation.

Despite the prosecution’s argument that there were two shooters involved in Johnson’s death, Finegar said this was only an assumption because two different casings were found.

Following opening statements, the trial continued with testimony from a police sergeant.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer is presiding over the trial, which is scheduled through March 8.