Has LeRoy Jernigan's Murderer Been Found? - UPDATED

Earlier in the month, I wrote an article for the Raleigh Chronicle about LeRoy Jernigan, a man who was killed while cleaning Circus Family Restaurant at 1600 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh. He had been shot once in the head, execution style.

News today says a man, Samuel Cooper, with a significant criminal history has been charged with LeRoy's murder, in addition to four others.

More updates to come, but I have a feeling justice will finally be served for those families.

Update:

Samuel James Cooper, 30, of 2300 Creech Road was arrested after a Garner bank robbery and car chase in Garner. He was then connected to and charged with five murders dating back to May 2006. Here are the warrants.

Those murders, however, are far from when his criminal record started. In 1994, he was 17 when he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for armed robbery. Five years later, while in prison at the Wake Correctional Center, he and two other inmates overpowered a guard and escaped.

While on the run, they carjacked a Buick but ran out of gas on I-40. A sheriff's deputy gave them a ride to a convenience store, not realizing they were escaped inmates. When they asked for rides to Wilmington at a Benson apartment complex, they were arrested.

And again in 1999, after he was sentenced to 26-32 months in prison for the escape, he punched a deputy in the jaw and knocked her to the ground while she was escorting him from a courtroom. He was attempting to pull her service weapon from her holster when others came to her aid.

Chasity Jernigan, LeRoy's sister, has said she is glad that he is off the streets and that LeRoy has some closure. In addition to LeRoy's murder, Cooper has been charged with the murders of the following (for a map, go here:

Tariq Hussain, 52,


Hussain was found dead shortly after 10 a.m. on October 14. He was shot to death behind the counter of his convenience store, Bobby's Grocery, and was discovered by a customer. He was a father of three and an apparent victim of a robbery.

Rickey High, 48
A homeless man, High was found lying on the sidewalk on October 12 about a block from where he lived. He had worked for stores near the St. Augustine's College.

Timothy David Barnwell, 34


Barnwell was shot and killed on April 27 outside his apartment during an apparent robbery at Windsor Falls Apartments. His ankles and wrists were bound, and he tried to escape by jumping over the balcony of his second-floor apartment, but was shot several times when he landed.

Osama "Samuel" Haj-Hussein, 43
Haj-Hussein was shot and killed on May 12, 2006. He was a clerk at the In & Out Mart on Creech Road, and a native of Jordan.


LeRoy Jernigan photo courtesy of Chasity Jernigan; photos of four victims found on Wral.com

Sheriff Says Michelle Young Case Ongoing

Nine months after Michelle Young was found murdered in her Raleigh home, Sheriff Donnie Harrison said he has no suspects but the case is ongoing. Young's husband, Jason Young, is also still not cooperating with investigators.

More here: http://www.raleighchronicle.com/2007080901.html

*****

This is my first published freelance story. Critiques are always welcome, as well as any information about the case. :)

The Worst Kind of Justice

While waiting for information pertaining to a Raleigh murder case, I began wondering how many unsolved murders there actually are in Raleigh. Quite a few at the moment, including two pregnant women, Michelle Young and Jenna Nielsen. But I came across an article in the Oct. 2004 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin that immediately drew me in.

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In 2002, Stephanie Renee Bennett was a brown-haired, brown-eyed 23-year-old. She was bright, happy. Her friends said she had the best personality, that she hated exercise and loved dogs, and was about to begin a new adventure with college sweetheart Walter Robinson. Walter said he met her at a sorority party during her freshman year at Roanoke College.

"She was beautiful," he said. "I was speechless."

After earning her business degree, Stephanie announced her desire for independence, and moved into a Raleigh apartment with friends Deanna Powell and Emily Metro in July 2001. The girls initially wanted an apartment on the second floor, but managers said it wasn't available; they instead took a three-bedroom on the first floor.

Stephanie began processing grant applications for an IBM contractor, and enjoyed shopping and playing board games with her roommates every night. She visited Walter in Greenville, SC every weekend.

By April 2002, she had made the decision to move to Greenville.

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It was the night of May 20 that would forever haunt Stephanie's family and friends.

She was home alone, her roommates in Virginia. She had made broccoli for dinner and had spoken with Emily, Deanna and Walter by phone.

Her body would be found in her bedroom the next day.

Police quickly determined this was a rape-murder case. The killer apparently got into the apartment by removing a screen to an unlocked window, waited, and then jumped her. He bound her wrists and ankles, most probably with handcuffs, and gagged her. He wrapped a rope or wire around her throat, twisted it from behind and strangled her.

Stephanie had been sexually assaulted orally, anally and vaginally.

There was little disturbance within the apartment, and no signs of a struggle. Some pictures and stuffed animals seemed to have been moved deliberately. And a cordless phone was disconnected and placed into the bedroom closet. The killer left with $8 and her stereo.

Several weeks before Stephanie's death, a neighbor reported seeing a man crouching behind bushes and peering through Stephanie's window. A composite sketch of the peeper generated calls but no arrests.

In July 2003, still without suspects, the police released information about evidence left at the crime scene. DNA indicated the killer was white, with 92 percent Indo-European heritage and 8 percent Native American heritage.

In May 2005, police released a description of a person of interest: a thin build with light brown or blond hair. He walked a large dog and was often seen wearing a dark, hooded sweat shirt.

And on Oct. 19, 2005, police got their big break. Drew Edward Planten, 35, was charged with murder.

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People who knew Drew, or at least knew of him, described him as a loner. Almost 24 hours after his arrest, he hadn't said a word - he didn't answer questions, he refused to life his head for his police photo and wouldn't speak to his lawyer. He wouldn't even walk into the courtroom. Deputies strapped him to a gurney chair and rolled him into court.

At his first trial, it was revealed that Drew lived in apartments next to Stephanie's apartment at the time of her death. He rarely spoke to neighbors, and took his Rottweiler for walks only at night.

One neighbor, Dana Allen, said in the summer of 2004 she had an unnerving experience with Drew. She was unloading groceries from the back seat of her car, when she turned around to find Drew standing behind her, hand on her car door. He attempted to make conversation, but alarmed Dana when he began asking if she lived with anyone.

"He made me so uncomfortable," she said. "I felt like there was something wrong with him," she said.

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I was scrolling through the "News and Observer" archives on the story, starting from the beginning, feeling relieved that Drew was found, and that he would get to suffer for it.

It was a capital trial. If convicted, he would either face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

And then, the headline: Suspect in 2002 killing commits suicide.

Not only will questions never be answered about what really happened, but justice will now never be served. He is dead, which is what I would have advocated, but he's dead on his own terms - he still had control.

He had control when he was unresponsive to guards and lawyers, and he was in control when he killed Stephanie.

I believe that's what rape is about: control. This man, if you can call Drew a man, planned everything. He watched the house, looked through windows. He was out walking his dog at night, maybe to scope things out. He was, by all accounts, a monster, and that is too generous.

Murder is a horrible act. Rape is a horrible act. Both together are horrible beyond words. For that, Drew should have had the one thing he apparently needed taken away from him: control. That failed.

What causes a person to commit these kinds of immoral, selfish, unfathomable acts? In Drew's case, at least, we'll never know.

News and Observer, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin