Lorain man pleads not guilty to murder

Bond set at $1M

A 42-year-old Lorain man pleaded not guilty Jan. 3 after police say he shot and killed another man on New Year’s Day.

Marlon J. Johnson made his plea in Lorain Municipal Court before Judge Thomas J. Elwell Jr. on a single murder charge.

Police say Johnson shot 45-year-old Todd Michael Dais multiple times, killing him in the early hours of 2018, the first homicide of the year.

On Jan. 3, Johnson appeared via video for arraignment at the court with attorney Michael J. Camera.

Camera requested a preliminary hearing; it was scheduled for 1:05 p.m., Jan. 9, at the court with Municipal Judge Mark Mihok.

Elwell set bond at $1 million at the request of City Prosecutor Jeff Szabo.

“Defendant’s charged with a serious crime, has an extensive criminal history including, I see, a charge of intimidation,” Szabo said.

Camera said he spoke briefly to Johnson and would travel to the Lorain County Jail to meet with Johnson before the preliminary hearing.

He said they will discuss the bond amount at the preliminary hearing.

The hearing lasted less than two minutes to deal with the procedural issues.

Johnson did not comment on details of the case.

Camera said he expects to learn more about the circumstances at the preliminary hearing.

“There wasn’t a police report, per se,” Camera said. “All I found out so far was that there was a shooting that happened at a party, and there were drugs involved.”

According to police, they located Dais at 5:38 a.m. in the basement of a home in the 800 block of West 22nd Street in Lorain after receiving calls of shots fired.

Johnson was seen leaving the property in a red on grey older model vehicle that officers believed was possibly a late model Buick Roadmaster.

Authorities put the community on notice that Johnson was on the loose and possibly armed and dangerous. They included photos of Johnson and the car.

Johnson was arrested without incident at 10 a.m. the next morning on Sterling Road.

Lorain police Detective Sgt. Buddy Sivert said, the department expects more charges to be filed against Johnson and others who they believe were involved.

“We believe the victim was directly targeted,” Sivert said.

He added that tips from concerned citizens helped in unraveling the case. “We received a lot of information, a lot of tips, about the whole investigation,” Sivert said.

Johnson was on parole following his parole hearing Feb. 7, after serving nine years in prison for robbery, aggravated burglary, abduction, intimidation and domestic violence through the Lorain County Common Pleas Court and Medina County Common Pleas Court, according to court records.

Johnson remained at the Lorain County Jail.

Johnson