Local News in Brief : Jury Acquits Man in Death of Police Officer
A Van Nuys Superior Court jury Wednesday acquitted Reecy Clem Cooper, 34, of conspiracy to commit murder in the slaying of a Los Angeles police officer.
Cooper, who was accused of helping plan the revenge slaying of Detective Thomas C. Williams in 1985, was also tried for first-degree murder. He was acquitted of that charge Tuesday.
Williams was gunned down on Halloween as he picked up his 6-year-old son at a Canoga Park day-care school to prevent the detective from testifying at a robbery trial, prosecutors said.
Daniel Steven Jenkins, 33, and Ruben A. (Tony) Moss, 27, were convicted last year of first-degree murder in connection with the officer’s death.
Last month, Voltaire Williams, 26, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder but was acquitted of first-degree murder. The jury is still deliberating on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder against a fifth man, Duane Moody, 30.
“I’m disappointed,” Deputy Dist. Atty. E. William Gravlin said about Cooper’s verdict.
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