Vincent Edward Cooks

Case identification

Vincent Edward Cooks was executed by lethal injection in Texas on December 12, 2001.

Timeline

• February 1988 — Mark DeCardenas went to the bank to obtain $30,000 in cash for the store's check cashing service, accompanied by Gary Don McCarthy.
• Feb. 26, 1988 — Vincent Edward Cooks and two accomplices rented a blue Plymouth and parked it near the Brancatos Grocery Store in Dallas; they also parked a stolen Oldsmobile across from the store.
• 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, 1988 — DeCardenas and off-duty police officer Gary Don McCarthy returned from the bank; Cooks attempted to grab the money bag; McCarthy pushed him away; DeCardenas dropped the money bag; Cooks shot McCarthy; McCarthy’s return fire shattered the Oldsmobile’s rear window.
• March 10, 1988 — Cooks was indicted for the capital murder of Gary D. McCarthy in the course of a robbery.
• December 7, 1988 — Cooks was convicted of capital murder.
• December 1986 — Cooks began serving a 5-year sentence for aggravated assault.
• August 1987 — Cooks was paroled.
• September 16, 1992 — The Court of Criminal Appeals confirmed the conviction.
• June 28, 1993 — The Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiori.
• April 1995 — Cooks filed for state habeas relief.
• April 3, 1996 — The Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the recommendation by the state habeas court that relief be denied.
• May 22, 1996 — Execution set for May 22, 1996.
• May 16, 1996 — Cooks requested that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, stay his execution.
• April 23, 1997 — Cooks filed his petition for federal habeas corpus relief in the district court.
• December 2000 — The district court entered a final judgment denying relief.
• July 12, 2001 — The Fifth Circuit denied Cooks' request for permission to appeal the decision.
• August 7, 2001 — The trial court reset Cooks' execution for Dec. 12, 2001.
• December 12, 2001 — Cooks was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, and was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.

Background

Vincent Edward Cooks had previously been convicted of aggravated assault in a case that included him firing shots at a police officer. He began serving a 5-year sentence in December 1986. He served 8 months before being paroled in August 1987 due to prison overcrowding. He was also disruptive in jail while awaiting trial for capital murder, including scattering food all over the front wall of his cell, loudly demanding more food, and threatening that “if anybody messes with me, I'll kill somebody.” He smiled and added, “[T]his is not the first time I've been accused of it.” He tried to grab food in the officers’ dining room when escorted from his cell through the officers’ dining room to the gymnasium. When told not to grab the food, he responded, “Don't no [expletive] police tell me what to do. Any police that mess with me, I'll beat their ass.” He also had a quick temper and intimidated jail staff members.

Cooks also had a prior criminal history described as including him firing two shots at a police officer in 1984 when the officer attempted to quell a nightclub fight. He committed two additional aggravated robberies accomplished in much the same manner as the primary offense. The first of those robberies occurred on Nov. 11, 1987, when he robbed a small Dallas grocery store in the middle of the afternoon as the store’s owner returned with $37,000 from a bank run. Cooks pointed his gun at the store owner and demanded the money. Police identified his fingerprint and Stallworth’s palm print on a “hot- wired” Oldsmobile Cutlass that was abandoned near the store. The second aggravated robbery occurred in January 1988, when he stole $30,000 from a Dallas liquor store early in the afternoon as store employees returned from a bank run while wielding his gun.

Cooks claimed innocence of shooting Gary McCarthy during his appeals and his stay on death row. He told a reporter, “I haven't been a saint, but I didn't commit this murder,” and “I did many wrong things, but they're executing me for something I didn't do.” He admitted committing other armed robberies, stating, “nobody was hurt.”

At his punishment hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that Cooks committed two very similar armed robberies prior to the one in which Gary McCarthy was killed. In addition, he was described as being shackled during trial at some point, and the material included arguments about shackling and prejudice.

The offence

In February 1988, supermarket owner Mark DeCardenas went to the bank to obtain $30,000 in cash for the store’s check cashing service. Gary Don McCarthy, 33, was an off-duty police officer who worked part time as the store security guard and accompanied DeCardenas. McCarthy was not in uniform. While DeCardenas and McCarthy were at the bank, police noticed a trio of men sitting in a parked Plymouth outside of a supermarket and noted the license plate.

Cooks and accomplices rented a blue Plymouth and parked it down the street from the Brancatos Grocery Store in Dallas, Texas. They also parked a stolen Oldsmobile in a parking lot across from the store. The men sat in the Plymouth and waited. At 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, 1988, Cooks and Harvey left the Plymouth and got inside the Oldsmobile still parked across from the store. When Cooks observed DeCardenas and Officer McCarthy returning to the store, he exited the Oldsmobile and approached DeCardenas and McCarthy on foot.

Cooks attempted to grab the money bag from DeCardenas while waving his gun and demanded the money bag. Officer McCarthy pushed him away and DeCardenas dropped the bag. Cooks then shot Officer McCarthy. McCarthy returned fire and shattered the Oldsmobile’s rear window as Cooks fled the scene. Cooks grabbed a bundle amounting to $10,000 and entered the stolen Oldsmobile, then fled. The damaged window did not go unnoticed by two police officers patrolling the area. Suspecting that the car was stolen, the officers pursued and found the vehicle abandoned when they reached it. The officers found a revolver on the floorboard of the vehicle. McCarthy was taken to a hospital and died.

Investigation and arrest

Police traced a license plate to Tracy Stallworth, who named Cooks and Harvey as accomplices. A witness picked out Cooks from a police lineup and identified him as the killer of Officer McCarthy. Police arrested Stallworth, Harvey and Cooks shortly after tracing the license plate number to the rented blue Plymouth. One account also described that police arrested Stallworth the day after the shooting and that Stallworth gave up Harvey and Cooks when arrested.

Trial

Cooks was convicted on Dec. 7, 1988 of murdering peace officer Gary Don McCarthy in the course of a robbery that occurred in Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 26, 1988. The material described the trial as involving evidence presented by prosecutors and included reference to eyewitness testimony, inconsistency in heights and weight described by witnesses, and arguments about whether enough evidence existed to identify Cooks.

At trial, prosecutors misconstrued Cooks’ school record, claiming that he had to be removed from class so the rest of the school could function; the material asserted that he was merely placed in a disciplinary setting for his truancy problem. The material also included a contention that witnesses identified people other than Cooks and that eyewitness identifications pointed to a killer described as shorter and smaller than Cooks.

The jury convicted Cooks and sentenced him to death in December 1988. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction in September 1992.

Sentencing

Cooks was convicted and sentenced to death in December 1988.

Appeals

May 16, 1996 — Cooks requested that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, stay his execution; the district court granted the request. 12, 2001.

Cooks’ appeals and motions included assertions of innocence and challenges related to eyewitness identification and jury prejudice, including arguments about shackling and prosecutors’ interpretations of a school record. Federal courts repeatedly denied Cooks’ contention that the jury was improperly prejudiced.

Outcome

On December 12, 2001, Vincent Edward Cooks was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. The lethal injection began and he was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.

During his execution statement, he expressed love for his family and apologized to his mother. He told her, “I'm sorry, Teach [Mom] for not being a better son and not doing better things,” and “It wasn't your fault I did the things I did,” and “At least I won't be here anymore. I'm going to miss you.” He said, “You people over there, you know what these people are doing. By them executing me, ain't doing nothing right. I don't weigh 180 pounds, 5-foot-7.” After Cooks finished his statement, he said, “Do what you do, warden.” He was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m., 11 minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing. He also stated on death row, “When you get caught doing something, you don't tell. It's a code,” and “If I knew, I wouldn't tell. They put me in here wrongfully.” He stated, “I did many wrong things,” and “But they're executing me for something I didn't do.”

Aftermath

Tracy Dewayne Stallworth and Tony Ray Harvey were convicted of several crimes including aggravated robbery. All sentences were set to run concurrently, with each man’s longest sentence being 20 years. One account stated that it did not provide information on either man's current status and noted public records showing Stallworth renewed his driver's license in 1992.

The material also included a statement from Candy McCarthy, the slain officer’s sister: “The difficult part of this is reliving the memories,” and “We've been waiting nearly 14 years for this.” Another statement attributed to Janice Warder, a former assistant district attorney in Dallas County and then a state district judge in Dallas, said: “There was no doubt in my mind that Cooks was the gunman.”

Other details

Officer Gary Don McCarthy had been described as a rookie, a married father of two, and a former Baptist missionary fluent in several languages. Another detail described that he was accompanying the manager of the market to a bank to pick up $30,000 to be used for cashing checks and that the robbers fled without cash after the confrontation. The material also described that the robbers were confronted by a gunman as they were about to enter the store and that McCarthy was fatally shot during the confrontation.

The material included statements that Cooks did not make eye contact with relatives of slain Officer Gary McCarthy and that he repeated his contention that initial witness identifications pointed to a killer smaller and shorter than “6-foot-3, 300-plus” Cooks, including, “I don't weigh 180 pounds, 5-foot-7.” He repeatedly exchanged “love you” and “see you later” with his mother, aunt, and other relatives, smiling and laughing at times. The material also stated that he addressed the warden and said, “Do what you do, warden.”