All charges dropped against man accused of helping burglars kill OPD officer Tuan Le – Times Herald Online

OAKLAND – Alameda County prosecutors on Wednesday dropped all charges against a man accused of serving as a lookout during a burglary that ended with the shooting death of Oakland police Officer Tuan Le.

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office will not pursue three second-degree burglary charges against Marquise Cooper, 35. The move came just weeks after a judge dismissed Cooper's murder case because prosecutors could not prove he was a “major participant” in the officer's death in late December.

Cooper remained in custody Wednesday morning on charges of violating probation in a Contra Costa County burglary case, but Cooper's attorney said he was “glad” the Alameda District Attorney's Office dropped the case against him.

“From the beginning of the case, we have affirmed Marquise's innocence of the murder charge,” said attorney Ernie Castillo. “Marquise and his family look forward to him coming home soon.”

Three other people – Mark Demetrious Sanders, Allen Starr Brown and Sebron Russell – remained jailed without bail Wednesday after the death of Le. Le had been working as an undercover officer on Dec. 29 when he was shot during a series of burglaries on the city's waterfront.

A judge found in mid-August that there was enough evidence to try the men for murder. A trial date has not yet been set, and all three men pleaded not guilty earlier this year.

Authorities allege that Sanders, Brown and Russell committed multiple break-ins at a marijuana greenhouse in the 400 block of Embarcadero before dawn on Dec. 29. Le and his partner were inside the warehouse twice that morning. The second time was around 4:30 a.m., when at least seven burglars poured out of the ransacked greenhouse and fled in several vehicles.

The officers, who were in plain clothes and driving an unmarked Nissan pickup truck, initially followed one of the cars as it drove out of the warehouse parking lot. Russell was believed to be in that car, according to court testimony.

Moments later, prosecutors believe Brown pulled another car behind the officers while Sanders fired at least 22 shots at their pickup truck. Le was shot in the head and died hours later at Highland Hospital. His death was the first killing of an on-duty police officer in Oakland in about 15 years.

Cooper parked across Interstate 880, where he allegedly acted as a guard during the final morning break-in, according to court testimony. When Alameda County Judge Delia Trevino dropped the murder charge against him, she said Cooper should not be charged with murder because he could not see Les' truck when the officer arrived at the greenhouse or when he was shot.

Originally published: August 28, 2024 at 12:21 pm