Man Charged With Murder In Towson Comfort Inn Homicide

TOWSON, MD — Police have identified the man charged with murder after a Pennsylvania man was found dead in a room at the Towson Comfort Inn. He is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections.

Deonte James Griffin, 26, of the 3700 block of Eastman Road in Randallstown, is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and using a firearm in a violent crime.

The charges came after a phone call to 911 from someone who witnessed the beginning of what authorities said turned into a deadly exchange.

Officers were called to the 8800 block of Loch Raven Boulevard for a report of a person with a gun after 2:26 a.m. on Thursday, July 18.

Jeremiah David Koch, 30, of Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania, was found dead inside a hotel room with trauma to the upper body that police said was believed to be from a gunshot wound. His body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

Koch had been summoned to the hotel room by another man to calm Griffin, who had been in the room in an agitated state, police said.

When Koch came in, Griffin allegedly pulled out a gun and the third man ran out, called 911 and reported hearing shots fired.

Griffin is slated to appear for a preliminary hearing in Baltimore County District Court on Aug. 16, court records show.

RELATED: Comfort Inn Homicide Under Investigation In Towson