Howard County police have filed charges against two suspects injured in a Baltimore County officer-involved shooting in Elkridge yesterday. Justin Lee Buchanan, 34, of Spence Street in Baltimore, and Kevin Tyler Kelly, 25, of Harman Ave. in Baltimore, are facing charges of attempted murder, assault and weapons violations after shots were fired at BCoPD officers from inside their vehicle following a pursuit that ended in Howard County.
Buchanan, the driver of the 2014 Acura RX, and Kelly, the front seat passenger, were both shot when BCoPD officers returned fire after being fired upon. Investigators later found a handgun at the scene and multiple spent cartridge cases inside the Acura. Both suspects remain in critical condition at Shock Trauma. No officers were injured in the incident.
A third suspect, Benjamin Lemon, who was the back seat passenger during the pursuit, was not charged in the shooting. However, he was taken into custody at the scene on an open arrest warrant for a Baltimore County shooting on May 19 at Hollins Ferry Road and 3rd Avenue in Lansdowne. In that case, police believe Lemon fired at another person, but missed. He has been charged with first- and second-degree assault and weapons violations in that incident. According to Baltimore County police, the May 21 pursuit began in an effort to apprehend Lemon after he was spotted in the Acura in the area of 2nd Avenue and Saratoga Avenue in Lansdowne.
The pursuit ended in the police-involved shooting just before 2:30 p.m., in the 5600 block of Furnace Avenue in Elkridge, Howard County, after BCoPD officers were fired upon from inside the suspects’ Acura. Detectives are still investigating who fired those shots at the officers.
Howard County police were called to the scene and learned that the shooting had occurred just prior to their arrival. Lemon was taken into custody on his open Baltimore County warrant and Kelly was taken to Shock Trauma with a gunshot wound. Buchanan initially refused to exit the vehicle, but later complied and was also taken to Shock Trauma with a gunshot wound.
The number of BCoPD officers involved is still being investigated. The Howard County police investigation is ongoing.
###