In the early evening of January 10, 2021, a gathering of mourners at a candlelight vigil in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the life of 25-year-old Darius Cooper. A Germantown resident, Cooper was found by Montgomery County Police officers suffering from a gunshot wound in the parking lot of an apartment building on South Frederick Avenue. The vigil was being held for another man who had been fatally shot by police just two days prior.
Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, Cooper succumbed to his injuries. The cause of his death was officially ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner.
According to witnesses at the scene, Cooper and another man were seen fighting in the parking lot shortly before a gunshot rang out. The suspect then fled the area. The investigation into the shooting led detectives to identify Jakel Delante Stone, a 31-year-old from Glen Burnie, as the primary suspect. A key piece of evidence that linked Stone to the crime was DNA that was recovered from the scene.
Five months after the fatal shooting, in June 2021, Jakel Delante Stone was arrested in Anne Arundel County on a criminal warrant. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder for the death of Darius Cooper. Following his arrest, Stone was transported to the Central Processing Unit and held without bond.
