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Suspect in shooting of 2 officers during Breonna Taylor protests held on $1M bond

The defense lawyer argued that the area where the officers were shot Wednesday night was like a "war zone," which would make it difficult to discern whether Johnson fired the shots.
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A man accused of shooting two Louisville police officers during protests over a grand jury’s decision in the Breonna Taylor case pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $1 million bail.

Larynzo D. Johnson, 26, of Louisville, appeared before Judge Lisa Langford on Friday morning for his arraignment on 14 counts of wanton endangerment and two counts of assault on police officers.

Louisville police officer Robinson Desroches and Maj. Aubrey Gregory were shot during Wednesday night’s protests.

Desroches, who was wounded in the abdomen, remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Thursday afternoon.

Gregory, commander of the Louisville Metro Police Department's Special Operations Division, was shot in the hip and was released from the hospital, interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said Thursday.

"We are extremely fortunate that these two officers will recover," Schroeder told reporters.

Prosecutors initially asked for a $750,000 all-cash bond, but Johnson's attorney, Zac Meihaus, sought a reduction to as low as $142,000, commensurate with the total fines for the charges. He also asked the judge to allow Johnson to wait for his trial under home confinement rather than at the detention center.

Meihaus told the judge that the area where the officers were shot Wednesday night was like a "war zone," which would make it difficult to discern whether the gunfire came from Johnson.

"I don't know if we can truly pinpoint that he is the person who fired the shot 'heard around the world' so to speak," he said.

But prosecutors argued that there was significant evidence suggesting Johnson was responsible for the shooting of the two officers, citing video footage and multiple witnesses.

Given that evidence, they asked that Johnson's bond be increased to $1 million, and the judge, noting the seriousness of the charges, agreed.

A public defender was appointed to represent Johnson at his next court hearing on Oct. 5.