A 21-year-old man faces a maximum of 60 years of prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree murder in the 2023 fatal shooting of his mother’s partner following a dispute over a missing dog, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said Tuesday in a statement.
In Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, Lawrence Marshall IV pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime for the shooting death of Cederic Warner, 40, of White Oak. Marshall shot Warner because he blamed him for the escape of Marshall’s dog, according to the statement.
The statement did not say where Marshall had resided, but online court records for 2023 listed a Montgomery Village address.
Marshall faces a maximum of 60 years in prison during a sentencing scheduled for Aug. 28, according to the statement. According to court documents, Marshall is being represented by the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender. The public defender’s office didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to an emailed request for comment.
Montgomery County police responded to the report of a shooting in the 11500 block of Lockwood Drive in White Oak at about 10 p.m. on July 5, 2023, according to charging documents. First responders located Warner upon arrival, and despite life-saving measures, he was pronounced dead.
According to charging documents, Marshall’s mother was dating Warner and lived with Warner and Marshall’s dog in the Lockwood Drive apartment. In the early morning hours of July 5, 2023, the dog escaped the apartment after Warner let it out of its cage.
Warner and Marshall’s mother searched for several hours for the dog but were unable to find it, according to the documents. Later in the day, the pair called Marshall to tell him the dog was missing. Marshall was upset and began to threaten Warner. That same day, Marshall went to his mother’s apartment and continued to blame Warner for losing the dog. At one point, he began pointing a handgun at his mother, Warner and two other witnesses, the documents said.
According to charging documents, Marshall threatened to kill Warner if he didn’t find the dog.
Warner, Marshall, Marshall’s mother and another witness then continued to look for the dog. That evening, the witnesses said, Warner and Marshall were in the living room when Marshall began yelling at Warner, according to charging documents. The witnesses said they heard Marshall threaten to kill Warner if the dog wasn’t found and Warner stating that Marshall had a gun before three gunshots were heard.
The charging documents said witnesses saw Warner lying on his back with multiple gunshot wounds, and they began applying life-saving measures while Marshall’s mother called 911. According to charging documents, witnesses also said they saw Marshall leaving the apartment through a rear sliding glass door.
Marshall turned himself in to Montgomery County police in August 2023, after police issued an arrest warrant and a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
