Witness Issues Delay Trial for Accused of Fatally Shooting Baltimore Police Officer in Double Murder

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The murder trial for the two men accused of killing Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley in 2021 was delayed before Baltimore City Circuity Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn on Jan. 13 when the prosecutor could not arrange for as many as 200 witnesses to attend the trial.

Elliot Marcus Knox and co-defendant Travon Shaw are accused of shooting Holley and then Justin Johnson on Dec. 16, 2021.

According to charging documents, Knox and Shaw shot Officer Holley on the 4400 block of Pennington Avenue while she was in her patrol car. The two men then drove to the 600 block of Lucia Avenue, where they shot Johnson in his car because he supposedly owed Shaw money.

Knox, 33, and Shaw, 34, are both charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, two counts of firearm use in a felony violent crime, two counts of firearm possession with a felony conviction, two counts of having a loaded handgun on their person and two counts of having a loaded handgun in a vehicle.

Knox told detectives Shaw was responsible for shooting the Baltimore police officer. He then confessed to the Lucia Avenue homicide, saying both he and Shaw were responsible for the second murder. Knox told detectives that he hid the guns; they were subsequently found during a police search.

The assistant state’s attorney assigned to the case filed a motion to merge the two cases together, and trial dates were set for Aug. 24.

The trial is expected to last for 10 days. The judges are unknown at this time.

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