Homicide detectives used surveillance footage of a violent assault and interviews with police officers to identify a suspect in a deadly assault last week, according to court records.
Charging documents for Eric Cooke, 28, describe how investigators were able to determine he was the primary aggressor in an assault that took place near the intersection of Ramsay Street and Payson Street around 9:40 p.m. on Oct. 14.
They obtained surveillance footage that showed the assault victim, Breon Turner, 34, standing in the street. Several people had gathered in the area. Among them was a man who wearing a white tank top later identified as Cooke.
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The surveillance camera near the intersection rotated away from the gathering. When it returned, Turner was lying on the street and Cooke was allegedly “forcibly stomping on” Turner’s “upper body and head,” according to the charging documents.
Court records state that a female wearing a black dress removed Turner’s pants while he appeared to be unconscious. Paramedics arrived at the assault site several minutes later and took Turner to a local hospital.
Detectives were able to find surveillance footage of the fatal assault at a convenience store, too.
“This footage captured activity immediately before and after the assault and included images of both Cooke and the unidentified female wearing the black dress,” court records state. “Additionally, the footage contained an audio recording in which Cooke was heard stating, ‘I beat him by myself’. The video also shows an unknown black male carrying what appears to be the victim’s bookbag. The unknown male passes the bag to Cooke who walks off with the bag.”
Eric Cooke Charging Documents.png
Initially, Turner was in a chronic vegetative state due to his injuries, per court records. He died on Oct. 19, police said.
Investigators produced still images of Cooke and the woman from the surveillance footage and showed them to nine officers. Each officer was interviewed separately and each of their interviews were recorded, according to the charging documents.
“All nine officers positively identified the defendant as Eric Cooke based on their prior contact with him or their involvement in previous investigations.”
Eric Clayton Cooke, a Baltimore resident, was charged with the aggravated assault of 34-year-old Breon Turner. (Baltimore Police Department)
Detectives arrested Cooke in the 4900 block of Hamilton Avenue on Oct. 20, police said.
Cooke was taken to the Baltimore Central Booking & Intake Center. He faces charges of attempted first-degree murder.
This post was originally published on Fox 45 by Sinclair Media Group.
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