On April 10, 2015, Derek Cooper Jr., a 28-year-old man, was found dead in an apartment located in the 200 block of South Sixth Street in downtown Las Vegas. The Clark County coroner's office identified Cooper and determined that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest, along with multiple other gunshot wounds.
The investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed that Cooper was involved in an argument with two males shortly before the shooting.
However, the descriptions of these men were not immediately released. The police were called to the scene on the night of the incident and found Cooper dead.
As the investigation progressed, police began to look into potential suspects. One individual who came under scrutiny was Jacktorian Harvey, a 34-year-old man who was arrested on April 30, 2015, for drug trafficking. During his arrest, police found approximately 55 grams of cocaine and equipment used to manufacture crack in his apartment. Although Harvey was initially charged only with drug-related offenses, detectives were also exploring a possible link between him and Cooper's homicide.
Another person of interest was Ivory Hawkins, a 63-year-old man. On May 8, 2015, police indicated they wanted to question Hawkins, but it was unclear at the time if he was one of the men involved in the argument with Cooper. However, subsequent investigations and witness statements suggested that Hawkins might have been involved in the planned robbery that led to Cooper's death. Witnesses told Metro Detective Clifford Mogg that Harvey was the other man inside Cooper's apartment that night and that he shot Cooper during the robbery planned by Hawkins.
The investigation took a significant turn when Hawkins' body was found in an advanced state of decomposition in Utah on May 22, 2015. A warrant was executed to obtain a 6-inch piece of Hawkins' femur for DNA testing, which was to be sent to Metro for analysis. The warrant affidavit revealed that witnesses had informed police that Harvey was in Cooper's apartment the night of the homicide and that he had shot Cooper during the robbery. Cellphone records also showed that Harvey had called Cooper and was in the area around the time of the shooting. Additionally, a human blood stain found on the front passenger seat of Harvey's car was believed by Detective Mogg to possibly be from Hawkins.
Despite these findings, as of the last update, Jacktorian Harvey had not been formally charged in connection with Cooper's death. He remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on $150,000 bail, charged only with the drug offenses. The homicide investigation into Cooper's death continued, with police considering Harvey's involvement as a possibility but not yet having sufficient evidence to charge him with the crime.
