Man shot by Portsmouth police in Norfolk appears in court; police say he drove vehicle at officer
A Portsmouth police detective shot 18-year-old Malachi Elliot on July 22 after he drove a stolen vehicle in the detective’s direction while the detective was ordering him to stop, according to court documents recently filed in the case.
The criminal complaint filed by Portsmouth police provides the first accounting of what precipitated the shooting that day in Riverside Memorial Park cemetery. The complaint, filed in Norfolk General District Court, states that Portsmouth detectives found a stolen silver BMW in the Norfolk cemetery. The detectives recognized the passenger as Cedric Davis Jr., 18, who had outstanding warrants for two counts of carjacking, and later identified Elliot as the driver.
Elliot, who appeared in Norfolk General District Court Thursday afternoon, is charged with one felony count each of aggravated attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, grand larceny, and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent who has committed an offense that would have been a felony if done by an adult. He also had an outstanding warrant for contempt of court.
Neither the court documents nor Portsmouth police have explained why the Portsmouth police detectives were in a cemetery in Norfolk or how they located the vehicle in question, which was reported stolen July 18. The court documents say detectives turned on their emergency lights and sirens in order to stop the vehicle, but it continued moving forward until a detective blocked the vehicle from the front. Elliot is accused of then backing the vehicle up and driving directly at a detective who was standing in front of the vehicle commanding him to stop.
The complaint states that the driver disregarded the commands and continued to drive in the direction of the detective, “causing” him to fire at the driver. When the vehicle came to a stop, the detectives arrested Elliot and provided first aid, according to police. The court documents say detectives recovered a semi-automatic handgun from Elliot.
Elliot was hospitalized after the shooting. A close family member said in an interview that family weren’t able to talk to Elliot until he called them on Saturday.
At that point, Elliot told them he was shot a total of six times while in the vehicle, including once in the head and three times in the chest, causing him to black out. The family member said Elliot was surprised he was being charged with attempted murder because, he said, he neither drew a weapon nor tried to hit anyone with the vehicle.
Police said in the immediate aftermath of the incident that his injuries were not life-threatening. The family was told that he was having bullet fragments removed from his head and reconstructive surgery on his hand, and only learned of his six gunshot wounds after talking with him.
Elliot appeared in court Thursday by video and sported a cast on his arm. He qualified for a public defender and his preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 19.
Davis, the passenger in the vehicle, was not shot. He is charged with failure to appear in court, possession of a stolen automobile, use of a firearm and two counts of carjacking stemming from previous incidents.
The Virginia State Police are investigating the actions of law enforcement in the incident.
Gavin Stone, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
