Officer Tuan Le murder suspects plead not guilty
3rd suspect in Officer Tuan Le's alleged murder arrested
The US Marshals arrested Marquise Cooper, 34, as the third suspect in the alleged murder of Oakland police officer Tuan Le during the Dec. 29 burglary of a cannabis business. Cooper was arrested in Orange County, Calif. and is being held without bail.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The three defendants charged with the murder of Oakland police Officer Tuan Le pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
The suspects, 27-year-old Mark Sanders, 28-year-old Allen Brown, and 34-year-old Marquise Cooper, appeared in an Alameda County courtroom to enter not guilty pleas for the shooting death of Le, who was the first Oakland police officer killed in the line of duty in 15 years.
Sanders, the alleged gunman accused of firing the shots that killed Le, and Brown, the accused getaway driver, both face murder charges, including special circumstances.
Cooper, arrested by U.S. Marshals in Orange County last week, also faces a murder charge, but without the special circumstance allegation.
A fourth suspect, 30-year-old Sebron Russell, pleaded not guilty to a burglary charge.
Le was shot and killed on Dec. 29 while intercepting a burglary at a cannabis business along Oakland's Embarcadero, according to police. He was working undercover and in an unmarked vehicle when fatally struck by gunfire, authorities said.