Police: Ankle monitor, girlfriend’s statements pin Lexington murder suspect at crime scene
A Lexington man accused of killing someone at a gas station in March 2023 was sentenced to amended charges a year after he was identified as the shooter by his girlfriend after his arrest.
Marquan King, 21, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in October 2024, according to court documents.
He pleaded guilty to amended charges of first-degree manslaughter, convicted felon in possession of a handgun, evidence tampering and second-degree assault.
He was originally charged with murder, second-degree assault and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting. It happened March 17, 2023, at the Marathon gas station in the 300 block of North Martin Luther King Boulevard, police said.
Justin Cooke, 43, was killed in the shooting, according to police. A woman was also shot and her injuries were not life-threatening.
King was arrested four days later and booked into the Fayette County Detention Center. Court documents say surveillance footage captured King approaching the victims, shooting them, then fleeing on foot.
King’s girlfriend visited police headquarters the same day as his arrest and confirmed he was the shooter based on his clothing description when he allegedly shot Cooke and the woman, according to Detective Nicholas Music with the Lexington Police Department.
“Surveillance video showed a subject with ripped jeans, a black top and black slide sandals walk across the parking lot, fire multiple shots into Mr. Cooke’s vehicle,” Music said in court during a preliminary hearing Friday.
An ankle monitoring device also placed King at the scene of the murder, according to Music. King told detectives he rolled through the parking lot the day of the shooting, Music said.
Fayette District Judge Melissa Murphy found probable cause in King’s case and sent it to a grand jury, which will decide whether or not to indict King on the charges. His $750,000 bond for the murder charge and $5,000 bond for the assault charge remained the same despite arguments from his lawyer.
King’s lawyer argued in court Friday that the bond amount was unfairly high and beyond King’s means. Murphy said the bond would remain in place to protect the community, citing safety concerns if King was released.
A second man, Lamont Clayborne, 21, was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence in the same case, police said. Clayborne was observed fleeing from police with an ankle monitor that had been removed, according to court documents.
Clayborne was later discharged from jail via administrative release, according to court records.
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 10:01 AM.
