New Charges In Metra Officer's Murder
UPDATED 11/10/10 4:40 p.m.
RIVERDALE, Ill. (CBS) - New charges were announced Wednesday in the 2006 murder of a Metra police officer in south suburban Harvey.
Jemetric Nicholson, 23, is charged with the first-degree murder of Metra Officer Thomas Cook, who was shot and killed Sept. 27, 2006. Nicholson is being held without bond, authorities said.
Cook, 43, was shot twice in the head and killed as he sat in his marked Metra squad car across the street from the Metra Electric Line's 147th Street station in Harvey, where he had been doing security detail. His service weapon also was stolen from his body, authorities said.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's John Cody Reports
Podcast
One suspect has already pleaded guilty in the case. Jeremy T. Lloyd of Gary, Ind., was charged in January 2009 with murder and attempted robbery, and pleaded guilty just last month. Prosecutors say he has agreed to testify against Nicholson in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors say Nicholson and Jeremy Lloyd planned to rob Cook to get his gun. They say Nicholson was the shooter. Lloyd, the lookout. Both needed to replace several guns they lost earlier in the day when they were shooting at rival gang members.
"The code of silence, the no-snitch rule, was alive and well in this particular investigation. Certainly that is an obstacle for us in law enforcement," said Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Alvarez says her office and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force spent the past four years looking at a number of things in the case. The weapon was located nearly two years after the murder. It had to be traced back to the incident. Nicholson was already in custody for another murder.
"This case never went cold. It was never forgotten," Alvarez said.
Pam Cook, the victim's wife, expressed her gratitude at the charges.
"On behalf of the family of Thomas Cook, I would like to thank the State's Attorney and the Task Force for making sure this day would come for us," said Pam Cook. "We never gave up on them and we were very thankful that they were able to come to this end for us."
Prosecutors say Lloyd not only fingered Nicholson as the shooter, but others said both Nicholson and Lloyd had bragged about the murder.
Cook was a former Riverdale police officer, and is survived by his wife and two children: ages 11 and 12.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot and Newsradio 780's John Cody contributed to this report.
