Murder Suspect in Motel Shooting Still At Large: Police

LAUREL, MD — Police last week arrested an 18-year-old District man for the shooting death of a 19-year-old at a Laurel motel, the Anne Arundel County Police Department announced Tuesday. But a second District man charged with the shooting is at large, and the police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

On the evening of Wednesday, July 20, police officers in Washington, D.C., spotted Malachi Tavon Ellis, 18, in the 700 block of R Street and took him into custody without incident, the Anne Arundel police said. Ellis has been charged in the armed robbery and shooting death of Dalan Eddie Plummer, 19, of Laurel.

Ellis and Brandon Anthony Holmes, 28, met with Dalan Eddie Plummer, 19, on June 25 at the Knights Inn, at 3380 Laurel Fort Meade Road in Laurel, where the incident occurred, the police said. The Anne Arundel police responded that afternoon to the incident and found Plummer, a Laurel resident, with a gunshot wound to the upper body.

Holmes remains at large, and the police are urging anyone who knows of his whereabouts to call 911.

Plummer was taken to the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where he died of his injuries on July 3. Ellis was extradited Friday to Anne Arundel County, where he's being held without bond at the county jail, the police said.

Ellis, of the 200 block of Emerson Street NW, is facing a total of 28 charges, including first degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to commit second degree murder, and two counts of armed robbery, the police said.

Holmes, whose last known address is in the 5100 block of Kansas Avenue NW in the District, is facing 15 charges, including first and second degree murder, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of first degree assault. Police detectives narrowed down their search to Ellis and Holmes after getting information from witnesses, and by tracking down a Chevy Malibu in which the two were spotted.

The car was caught on a surveillance camera at an Exxon service station in Laurel on the day of the shooting, the police said.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Brandon Anthony Holmes. Anyone with information should call 911, or they can call the department's Homicide Unit at 410-222-4731. If people with information wish to remain anonymous, they can also contact the police Tip Line at 410-222-4700.

You can also call Metro Crime Stoppers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phone calls are not recorded and callers remain anonymous.

• Call: toll-free at 1-866-7LOCKUP (756-2587)
• Text: MCS, plus your message, to CRIMES (274637)
• Click: http://www.metrocrimestoppers....

Images: Wanted poster for Brandon Anthony Holmes; below, Malachi Tavon Ellis (AACPD)