ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 29, 1996 TAG: 9612300046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The lawyer for a woman charged with killing two people in a shooting rampage contends prosecutors reneged on an agreement that would allow her to avoid the death penalty if she is found guilty.
Dawn P. Cooper was charged with two counts of capital murder and three counts of malicious wounding in a Sept. 2 rampage that started outside her home and ended in an admissions area at Columbia Chippenham Medical Center.
Cooper's former husband, Harold Cooper, 55, was wounded in the shooting spree. His wife, Madeline Cooper, 43, was killed, along with her friend, Yvonne Womack, 50, of New York City.
Johnson said that on Oct. 10 Hicks offered to let Dawn Cooper plead guilty to reduced charges of first-degree murder rather than capital murder, three counts of malicious wounding and five related firearm charges.
LENGTH: Short : 27 linesby CNB