Man charged with murder in shooting of wife outside Cheltenham Walmart
Haitian national arrested after fatal shooting of former romantic partner in Walmart parking lot
Authorities have arrested a 23-year-old Haitian immigrant who overstayed his visa, charging him with murder in the fatal shooting of his former romantic partner moments after she finished her shift at a Cheltenham Walmart.
PHILADELPHIA - A 23-year-old man has been taken into custody and charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife, a Walmart employee, in a Montgomery County store parking lot, according to authorities and court filings.
What we know:
Officials said Destino Jean-Louis was arrested Friday morning in North Philadelphia by U.S. Marshals on an alleged visa overstay. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office subsequently charged Jean-Louis with murder and other offenses while he was in federal custody, authorities stated.
Officials said the operation was carried out rapidly to take Jean-Louis into custody before he had an opportunity to leave the country. Jean-Louis was reportedly held in federal custody through the weekend until Cheltenham Township Police picked him up to face murder and related charges in Montgomery County.
The victim was identified by authorities as 45-year-old Latosha Ann Cooper, a Walmart manager. Family members said Cooper was a longtime employee at the store for more than 20 years, as well as a mother and grandmother who had celebrated her birthday two days before the shooting.
Shooting and immigration dispute
The backstory:
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the shooting occurred on October 21 just before 11:30 p.m. outside the store in Cheltenham.
Investigators alleged that Jean-Louis stood masked near a bush with a direct line of sight to the store entrance, ran toward Cooper as she exited the building for the night alongside another employee and fatally shot her.
Court documents state that Jean-Louis and Cooper were married in March of last year and were attempting to navigate the legal process to allow Jean-Louis to remain in the United States.
An investigator on the case stated that immigration officials conducted an interview with the couple and declined to approve the petition after determining the marriage was not legitimate for immigration purposes.
Following that determination, Cooper withdrew her petition to sponsor him in July of this year, according to court filings.
Work history and investigation details
Dig deeper:
Court records indicate that Jean-Louis entered the United States from Haiti under a humanitarian program, which the Trump administration terminated last year. These records additionally show that Jean-Louis had previously worked at the Walmart location but was terminated due to issues surrounding his immigration status.
According to court filings, a co-worker told detectives that Jean-Louis admitted to physically assaulting Cooper for allegedly disrespecting him and repeatedly contacted store staff to obtain her work schedule as recently as September 30.
Prosecutors alleged that Jean-Louis's mobile phone records showed multiple trips between his residence in Philadelphia and the Walmart location in the weeks leading up to the incident, as well as at the time of the fatal shooting.
Investigators stated that a firearm was recovered from the Philadelphia residence during the investigation.
The Source: Information provided by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the American Immigration Council.