Man indicted on aggravated murder charge in Warren County shooting

Elijah Thomas is held on $1 million bond; Katelyn Puckett was shot in Franklin on June 18
Marshall Gorby/Staff

Marshall Gorby/Staff
Crime & Law
By Ed Richter
July 24, 2023
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A man who was bound over to a Warren County grand jury from Franklin Municipal Court has been indicted on multiple charges, including aggravated murder in the death of a Lebanon woman.

Elijah Malik Thomas, 26, who has given authorities home addresses in Hamilton and Cincinnati, was indicted by a Warren County grand jury on a count of aggravated murder and two counts of murder; and single counts of felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone. In addition, three-year firearm specifications were added to each of the charges.

Thomas is scheduled to be arraigned on these charges at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Warren County Common Pleas Court, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.

ExploreGrand jury gets case of Hamilton man charged in fatal Franklin shooting

The indictments were handed down Monday morning. Thomas remains in the Warren County Jail under a $1 million bond, according to jail records. He entered a not guilty plea to the charges in Franklin Municipal Court and waived his right to a preliminary hearing, which forwarded his case for review by a grand jury.

According to Franklin police, officers were dispatched about 12:40 a.m. June 18 to Boulder Drive at the Emerald Edge Apartments off East Second Street (Ohio 73), where they found a woman, later identified as Katelyn Puckett, shot multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Thomas allegedly fired multiple shots at Puckett before fleeing on foot.

Thomas was arrested around 9:35 a.m. June 18 after a traffic stop in Franklin and was taken into custody without incident, according to police.

Elijah Thomas

Credit: Warren County Jail

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Credit: Warren County Jail

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Ed Richter has been a working journalist for 38 years, with the last 34 years working in various capacities covering Butler and Warren counties as a reporter and an editor. Richter covers local news and governments in Warren County focusing on Springboro, Lebanon, Franklin, Carlisle and Waynesville.