CONVICTED ROBBER CHARGED IN 1995 SLAYING.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer A state prison inmate has been charged in a 1995 slaying in which two gunmen claiming to be police officers burst into a Lancaster home and killed a man. Danny Cooks, 26, a former Pasadena gang member who is serving time for a residential robbery, has been charged with five murders, including the death of Majadi Mahon Parrish - who had identified Cooks as a suspect in a carjacking The criminal taking of a motor vehicle from its driver by force, violence, or intimidation. The u.s. justice department categorizes the crime of carjacking as a "completed or attempted Robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger . ``We felt that his murder was directly related to his testimony,'' said Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County sheriff's homicide Detective Mark Lillienfeld. ``He had testified in a robbery case eight days prior.'' Parrish was shot and killed March 31, 1995, in a home on Indian Sage Road, where he had been staying temporarily. Two men wearing ski masks - claiming to be police officers serving a warrant - knocked on the door, then shot out a rear sliding glass door with a shotgun and entered the home. The gunmen herded a woman and several children into one bedroom and Parrish into another room, then killed him, officials said. Parrish, 22, had testified in the trial of one of several suspects in a Pasadena carjacking, officials said. During his testimony, he identified Cooks as one of the perpetrators, officials said. Cooks was not in custody in the time. All of the carjacking suspects were members of a Pasadena gang, officials said. A warrant was out for Cooks' arrest when Parrish was killed, officials said. The second gunman involved in Parrish's death has yet to be identified, detectives said. Cooks is charged with five counts of murder, one count of attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. , three counts of solicitation solicitation In criminal law, the act of asking, inducing, or directing someone to commit a crime. The person soliciting another becomes an accomplice to the crime. The term also refers to the act of obtaining bribes, as well as to the crime of a prostitute who offers sexual for murder and two counts of carjacking. He also faces special circumstances special circumstances n. in criminal cases, particularly homicides, actions of the accused or the situation under which the crime was committed for which state statutes allow or require imposition of a more severe punishment. of lying in wait, murder of a witness, multiple murders, special circumstance and an enhancement of personally using a firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. . All the slayings occurred within a year, and at least one of them was of another crime witness, officials said. The other four killings occurred in Pasadena, officials said. Cooks is liable for the death penalty if he is convicted. Cooks will be in court June 24 for a pretrial pre·tri·al n. A proceeding held before an official trial, especially to clarify points of law and facts. adj. 1. Of or relating to a pretrial. 2. hearing. |
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