In the early morning hours of July 18, 2019, a tragic series of events unfolded at a Comfort Inn in Towson, Maryland, culminating in the death of 30-year-old Jeremiah David Koch from Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. Koch had been called to the hotel on Loch Raven Boulevard by a friend in an attempt to de-escalate a volatile situation involving an agitated man.
The man, identified as 26-year-old Deonte James Griffin of Randallstown, was reportedly in a state of distress.
A witness later stated that Griffin had been consuming cocaine and was experiencing a drug-induced psychosis, believing people were trying to harm him. When Koch arrived at the hotel room to help, Griffin allegedly brandished a handgun. The friend who had summoned Koch fled the room and, after hearing gunshots, called 911. Police responded to the scene shortly after 2:26 a.m. and discovered Koch inside the hotel room with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Griffin initially fled the Comfort Inn but was apprehended by Baltimore County police in the vicinity a short time later. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and the use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence. Griffin was held at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections pending a bail review hearing. Court records indicated a preliminary hearing was scheduled for August 16, 2019.
