Defense: Suspended judge didn’t shoot estranged boyfriend, is innocent of attempted murder, assault

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The attorney representing a suspended magistrate judge in Pennsylvania says his client is not guilty of allegations that she shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept earlier this month.

Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight, 57, was charged last week in Dauphin County with attempted murder and aggravated assault. Susquehanna Township police alleged in an arrest affidavit that McKnight had gunshot residue on her hands an hour after Michael McCoy was shot on Feb. 10 in the bed of his home in the Harrisburg area.

“Judge McKnight is innocent of the alleged charges. She did not shoot Mr. McCoy,” attorney Cory Leshner said in a statement Monday. Lesher said his client “looks forward to the whole story being told” and “intends to vigorously defend herself in this matter.”

“She believes in the criminal justice system and once all of the facts in this matter are brought to light, she is confident that she will be cleared of any wrongdoing,” Lesher said, asking the public to “keep an open mind and reserve judgment in this case until all of the facts are presented.”

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McKnight was taken to the Dauphin County Prison, unable to post bail set at $300,000, according to court records.

Police wrote that McCoy, 54, had tried “numerous times” to get McKnight to move out after he ended their one-year relationship. On Feb. 9, McCoy came home to find McKnight in pajamas on the couch, and before going to bed at about 11 p.m. told her he planned to enlist her mother’s aid to get her out of the home, authorities said.

He told police he later awoke to “massive head pain” and was unable to see, and when he began to scream McKnight told him, “Mike what did you do to yourself?” He told police at the scene and at the hospital that the gunshot wound to his right temple was not self-inflicted.

When McKnight called 911 shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, she “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming,” police said in the affidavit. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled Feb. 26.

McKnight, an elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016, was suspended without pay in mid-November by the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges. The Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates and charges misconduct cases against Pennsylvania judges, alleged in a September filing that McKnight had violated judicial probation from a previous misconduct case centered on her actions regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter.

Among the pending misconduct allegations, the Judicial Conduct Board alleges that she gave excess vacation time to members of her court staff; directed an aide to ignore a woman’s civil complaint that claimed McKnight owed her for a $2,100 loan; and used a Facebook profile with her photo in judicial robes to promote sales of a consumer product.

Pennlive.com reported McKnight was not charged for shooting her estranged husband in 2019 — after inviting him to her home to help her move furniture. State prosecutors did not charge her, citing self-defense, Pennlive said.