Man Accused of Killing a Police Officer and Another Victim the Same Day Receives Trial Date

By Racquel Bazos - September 26, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Sept. 26, a 33-year-old defendant accused of killing a police officer appeared in reception court before Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Middleton to schedule his trial date.

Elliot Marcus Knox is charged in two separate cases with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, firearm possession with a felony conviction, having a loaded handgun on his person and a loaded handgun in his vehicle in connection to a pair of Dec.16, 2021, incidents within 90 minutes of each other. 

Knox has not yet been tried in either matter. His Maryland right to be tried within 180 days of his or his attorney’s first appearance expired in October 2022, but the prosecutor told the court that a trial within 2023 would be impossible due to the lead detective’s being on family leave until February 2024.

Judge Middleton scheduled a motions hearing on Dec. 11 before Judge Jeannie J. Hong to decide whether to join the two cases against Knox. 

Knox and his attorney, Tara G. LeCompte, will appear for trial on Feb. 26, 2024.

Meanwhile, Knox’s codefendant, Travon Shaw, will next appear in court on Sept. 27. The stand-in prosecutor said that the codefendants will be tried separately, with Knox going to trial first.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, police responded to the 600 block of Lucia Avenue for reports of a shooting. They found 38-year-old Justin Johnson in the driver’s seat of his vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Medics later pronounced Johnson dead at the scene.

Cartridge casings from the crime scene were consistent with those found at another crime scene on the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue, where a Baltimore Police Department officer was shot in her patrol car. In an interview with police, Knox admitted to his and his codefendant’s involvement in both shootings. Officer Keona Holley, 39, later died of her injuries.