The latest man charged with murder in the killing of Oakland police officer Tuan Le made his first appearance in court Tuesday morning, joining three other in facing a slew of felonies in the officer’s late December shooting death.
Marquise Cooper, 34, stared at the courtroom’s back wall and kept his face largely out of view of the gallery during the hearing, which lasted just a couple minutes at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland. Wearing a yellow jail outfit, he nodded his head when told to return to court Thursday to enter a plea alongside other men arrested in the officer’s death.
Tuesday’s hearing marked the fourth time a suspect appeared in court to face felony charges in the first on-duty killing of an Oakland police officer in 14 years.
Le was working as an undercover officer on Dec. 29 when he was fatally shot in the head around 4:30 a.m. while responding to a burglary call at a marijuana grow house on the 400 block of Embarcadero, along the city’s waterfront.
Prosecutors later charged Mark Demetrious Sanders, 27, and Allen Starr Brown, 28, with murder — accusing Sanders of firing the fatal bullet and Brown of driving the getaway vehicle. Another person, Sebron Russell, was charged with burglarizing the dispensary multiple times alongside Sanders, Brown and Cooper that morning.
Sanders’ mother also was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of felony accessory after the fact in connection with Le’s death, but she was released days later after the district attorney’s office declined to file charges.
Little is known about Cooper’s alleged involvement in Le’s death, or the three burglaries that preceded the fatal shooting. A probable cause declaration filed by the Oakland Police Department in support of his arrest included no new information about his potential role.
Cooper is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail.
After Tuesday’s hearing, Cooper’s attorney said he had no idea why Cooper had been charged with murder, and stressed that Cooper was not believed to be the shooter. Rather, the attorney suggested that Cooper may have been blocks away as a potential “lookout,” one who had no idea that a shooting was even unfolding.
“We’re going to do everything possible to make sure the charges reflect his limited conduct in this particular case,” said the attorney, Ernie Castillo.
