Samuel Cooper, Jr., 30, was arrested last Wednesday, November 21 with robbing a bank in Garner. After further investigation, police say forensic evidence from the bank robbery has linked him to several other crimes including unsolved murders.
Tuesday morning Raleigh Police and the Wake County Sheriff's Office filed murder charges against Cooper in the following cases.
- The May 12, 2006, murder of Osama "Samuel" Haj-Hussein, who was shot to death inside the In & Out Mart on Creech Road
- The June 3, 2006, murder of Leroy Jernigan, who was shot to death inside the Circus Restaurant on Wake Forest Road
- The April 27, 2007, murder of Timothy Barnwell, who was shot to death outside his apartment on Sunbow Falls Lane
- The October 12, 2007, murder of Rickey High, who was shot to death on N. Tarboro Road
- The October 14, 2007 murder of Tariq Hussain, who was shot to death inside Bobby's Grocery on Garner Road
Samuel James Cooper has a lengthy history in Wake County including prison escape.
At least two families of Raleigh murder victims, Tariq Hussain and Timothy Barnwell, were informed of possible breaks in those cases Monday night.
Cooper's father, Samuel Cooper, Sr. talked with Eyewitness News reporter Ed Crump. He says his son has never been in this much trouble. "He's locked up in the Wake County Jail. From my understanding there's a lot of things that are against him," the elder Cooper said.
In May 2006, the owner of a convenience store south of Raleigh was gunned down during a robbery. A month later, at the Circus Restaurant in Raleigh a man cleaning up after hours was gunned down. Then in April of this year, a man was found bound and shot to death after he jumped off the second floor balcony of his north Raleigh apartment. In October the owner of the convenience store on Garner Road in Raleigh was also gunned down during a robbery.
Copper's father Samuel had no idea this was going on with his son until last week when Garner Police chased and captured his son after he allegedly robbed a bank there.
Police found a gun in his parents mini-van where he was hiding and then another gun inside the Cooper home.
Cooper, Sr. says he was the first to discover the gun which belonged to his son, and he panicked. "I'm not supposed to be around a firearm because I'm a convicted felon," Cooper said. "When I found out about the circumstances and stuff I tried to move it because I was afraid."
The district attorney has now dropped charges originally filed against the elder Cooper - charges of possession of a firearm by a felon. Cooper, Sr. says he was also convicted more than a decade ago of child molestation. Outside his church Monday, he says he's turned his life around and tried to get his son to do the same.
"I asked him to seek help," Cooper said. "You know, to seek help because there's something misfiring. I love my son because he's my son. I don't love the things that he's done, but I love my son because he's my son."
Having said that, Cooper says he can't get the victims and their families off his mind. "It breaks your heart for the other people, for what they have to go through. A father's gone. A husband."
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and Major Ken Mathias, commander of the Raleigh Police Department's Detective Division said:
"We emphatically commend the detectives and investigators of the Raleigh Police Department and the Wake Sheriff's Office who pursued each of these cases with perseverance and determination. Ultimately, their staunch efforts made it possible to make this arrest. In addition, we express sincere thanks to CCBI and the SBI for the important roles they played in the gathering and analyzing of evidence.
