Suspect Found Guilty Of Running Over, Killing Man With Car: Prince George's Official

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — After a five-day trial and eight hours of deliberation, a Prince George’s County jury found 40-year-old Jhatavus McKnight guilty of the 2002 murder of David McCoy, 49, in Capitol Heights, prosecutors said.

McKnight was convicted of felony murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He potentially faces life in prison at sentencing, which has been scheduled for May 5.

"I want to thank the jury for their careful thought and consideration of the facts in this case. This verdict should give hope that justice delayed, does not mean justice denied,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy in a statement. “I want to thank the assistant state’s attorney assigned to this case for her hard work and dedication. Twenty years is a long time for Mr. McCoy’s loved ones to wait for justice and I hope that they will now have some peace knowing that Mr. McKnight will be held accountable for his role in this tragic murder.”

On the morning of Oct. 25, 2002, McCoy was robbed of a bag of money and killed at the Columbia Bank on Central Avenue in Capitol Heights. At the time, McCoy worked at Tucker Liquor Store and was responsible for nightly drop-offs of the previous evening’s earnings and bringing back cash and coins for the daily operation of the business, according to the state's attorney's office.

While being robbed, McCoy struggled with the co-defendant, who then shot him and got into a black Nissan Maxima driven by McKnight in the planned armed robbery. McKnight ran over the victim at least twice and struck his car, leaving evidence, before driving away, authorities said.

Several years later, after the case went cold, an anonymous tip led to the identification of McKnight as the driver of the vehicle used the morning of the murder. This ultimately reopened the investigation, which led to the identification and interviews of witnesses and associates of both suspects that ultimately established a co-defendant as the shooter, according to the state's attorney's office.