Man charged in ambush, murder of Baltimore Officer Keona Holley found competent to stand trial
BALTIMORE -- One of the men charged in the murder of Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley has been found competent to stand trial, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
A trial date has not yet been set for Elliot Knox, who is facing murder charges in the deaths of Holley and Justin Johnson, who was killed hours later on December 16, 2021. Knox and Travon Shaw were arrested and charged with both murders.
Holley was ambushed and shot while sitting in her patrol car in Curtis Bay. The mother of four was working overtime when she was shot.
Police used cameras and license plate readers to connect the two men to the crime.
Charging documents for the pair show that Knox told police he was there when Shaw opened fire into Holley's patrol car. The documents state the men were seen on surveillance video parking down the street from the officer's car before the shooting unfolded.
Holley was shot several times, including at least once in the head, according to charging documents.
She died a week later at the hospital.
Her death rattled the Curtis Bay community. Holley had only been an officer for two years, and yet she was already making her mark by challenging negative stereotypes about police officers while doing what she could to improve conditions in the Curtis Bay community, according to Markis Johnson, the owner of Unlimited Bounds, a home for people with substance abuse of mental health challenges that opened a few months before Holley was fatally shot.
"As soon as we started coming, she came in and introduced herself," Johnson said. "If we needed anything, she was like, 'Please let me know if you needed anything, you know. I'm always here.'"
When Officer Holley was a trainee with the department in 2020, she spoke to Business Insider for a story about reforms in the Baltimore police force. "I feel like officers have a bad name and we have to change that," she said at the time.
"Our crime level is so high. The community needs Baltimore City police officers who are not here for a paycheck. They're here because they care," Holley said about why she joined the BPD.
Holley's sister, Lawanda Sykes, said in an email to WJZ that Holley's family is "looking forward to trial" and, for that reason, cannot comment on trial proceedings.
"We remain faithful that justice will [be] served," Sykes said. "Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers."
Both suspects have lengthy criminal histories: Knox for armed robberies in Baltimore County when he was 16 years old. Shaw was out of jail awaiting a trial next year on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
