Teen Confesses To ‘Cold-Blooded Murder’ Outside Hudson Valley, New York Store

A Hudson Valley man was murdered as he exited a deli in the region.

The Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that a teen was sentenced for killing a Hudson Valley man in 2020.

Teen Sentenced For Killing Westchester County, New York Man Outside Deli

Maliki Johnson, an 18-year-old from Dover, Delaware, was sentenced to nine years to life in state prison for the 2020 murder of Yonkers resident Javon Merrill.

“Today’s sentence is justice for Javon Merrill’s family and holds this defendant accountable for committing this cold-blooded murder," DA Rocah said.

The teen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on March 3, 2023.

Details of Murder In Yonkers New York

On October 27, 2020, at approximately 9:35 p.m., then 15-year-old Maliki Johnson used a .38 pistol to shoot the 27-year-old victim in the chest as the victim was exiting a store on Ashburton Avenue in Yonkers.

Merrill was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, where he died from his injuries.

The shooting was captured on video. Johnson left a sweatshirt at the scene, which as covered by the Yonkers Police Department.

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Johnson was linked to the murder through DNA evidence from the sweatshirt, officials say.

"An investigation conducted by the Yonkers Police Department, with assistance from the Westchester County Department of Laboratories and Research, utilized video surveillance, DNA forensics, and witness interviews to identify the defendant as the shooter," the Westchester County DA's office states.

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Johnson was arrested on August 4, 2021, in Dover, Delaware. The United States Marshals Service First State Fugitive Task Force assisted with the arrest.