A fifth suspect was arraigned Thursday in connection to a fatal shooting at a Lakewood nightclub. Investigators say 31-year-old Thomas Earl Cooper is a suspect in the attack but that he is not one of the suspected shooters.
Cooper pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, and Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Sabrina Ahrens set bail at $1 million.
He’s one of six accused in the attack at the New World VIP Lounge, which killed 28-year-old Terrance King and injured three others.
Four suspects already have been arraigned. Another remains at large.
Cooper was booked into Multnomah County Jail earlier this year in Oregon after police allegedly found a loaded handgun in his gym locker.
Jail records show he was released from Multnomah Tuesday and booked into the Pierce County Jail the next day.
According to charging papers: Officers responded to the Lakewood club early Oct. 21 at 8722 South Tacoma Way and found the victims at the entrance.
King died from a gunshot wound to his back. The other three who were shot survived.
Surveillance video from the club and from a Tacoma club the suspects visited earlier helped investigators identify the group as alleged gang members from Portland, with the help of Portland police.
The others who have already pleaded not guilty are Kenneth Davis, 19; Monroe James Ezell, 30; Leonard Brightmon, 31; and 23-year-old Darry Daquan Smalley.
