LEIXNGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — 19-year-old Marquan King appeared via closed-circuit television on Wednesday for his arraignment on a murder charge. King and Lamont Clayborne were charged with the shooting death of 43-year-old Justin Cooke last Friday at a gas station on N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Cooke’s fiancee, JoJo Miller was also shot and wounded.
“Holding up the best I can, that’s about all I can say,” she said following Wednesday’s arraignment in Fayette District Court.
Judge Bruce Bell entered a not-guilty plea on King’s behalf, assigned a public defender to handle his case, and left bond unamended at $750,000.
Cooke, we’re told, was a good father and stepfather, and 11-year-old Story Henderson said he was even more than that to her.
“He was there more than my dad. I thought of him like a dad to me,” she said over the weekend. Ms. Miller said Justin will be remembered for being a loving and caring father.
King is scheduled to return to court on March 31. This was Lexington’s second homicide of 2023.
