Latres Javontae Cockerham, 26, of California (Previous Booking Photo)
UPDATE 11/15/2024: The sentencing in the murder case of Latres Javontae Cockerham is moving forward after new evidence came to light.
The State of Maryland recently shared additional information about two police officers who were involved in the investigation. After reviewing the officers’ internal records, Judge Joseph Stanalonis found nothing that needed to be disclosed to the defense, which shows there were no issues with the officers’ conduct that could affect the case.
The police acted properly throughout the investigation, and the review was just a necessary step to make sure all parties had the information they needed. To protect the privacy of the officers involved, the court issued a protective order limiting who can see the internal records.
Cockerham is scheduled to appear in court on December 23, 2024, for sentencing.
This process is part of ensuring fairness in court, and there is no indication that the police did anything wrong during their work on the case.
UPDATE 10/22/2024: The sentencing in the murder case of Latres Javontae Cockerham has been postponed due to the recent submission of additional evidence by the State of Maryland.
According to a court filing by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Donna C. Pettersen, the State has provided supplemental disclosures concerning two police officers. Additionally, the defense has requested information about police officers who have testified in the case, specifically regarding any potential misconduct or credibility issues, known as Giglio material (see below). The State has reviewed internal affairs records related to these officers but believes that not all of the information is necessarily relevant or required to be disclosed. However, to ensure fairness, the State has decided to make some of these records available to the defense under specific conditions to protect the privacy of the officers involved. These developments have necessitated a delay in sentencing to allow for the proper review and handling of the new evidence and disclosures.
Giglio material refers to evidence that could affect the credibility of a key witness, typically a police officer, by revealing past misconduct, dishonesty, or actions that may undermine their reliability in court.
This concept comes from the Supreme Court case Giglio v. United States (1972), which requires the prosecution to share this kind of information with the defense if it could make the witness seem untrustworthy. Essentially, if an officer’s testimony is important and they have a history of misconduct, the defense needs to know in order to question their reliability.
UPDATE 5/10/2024: Latres Javontae Cockerham, 26, of California, was convicted of the first-degree murder of Joseph James Oakes, 19 of Lexington Park, and the attempted first-degree murders of five additional teenagers for his participation in a drive-by shooting that occurred on January 12, 2022.
“The Defendant deliberately maneuvered his vehicle as his co-defendants rapidly fired bullets into another vehicle on a busy road in broad daylight, which provided for the murder of one teenager and the extreme endangerment of five others, while putting the neighboring community and all other drivers on the road at risk. It is no small miracle that additional lives were not lost,” said State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling. “Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families. We hope that this verdict brings them some comfort.”
The Defendant will be held without bond pending a sentencing hearing. He faces a maximum penalty of six consecutive life sentences, plus eight years for related firearm charges.
Sergeant Austin Schultz and Detective Taylore Nauman of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were the lead investigators.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Jeff Maylor and Donna Pettersen prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of St. Mary’s County.
The Honorable David W. Densford presided over the case.
Jevontez Deqwon Davis, age 21 of Mechanicsville, and Thomas Darnell Evans, age 23 of Lexington Park
UPDATE 10/11/2023: Jevontez Davis, 22, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, was sentenced to Life in prison with 50 years of active incarceration for the shooting homicide of a teenager.
On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 3:21 p.m., deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to Pegg Road in Lexington Park for a reported shooting.
Deputies arrived on scene and located two male victims suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the victims, a 19-year-old, was pronounced deceased on scene.
“This sentence cannot bring back the life that was senselessly taken, but I hope the victim’s family, his friends, and our community can find some solace knowing the Defendant will spend significantly more time in prison than the total number of years he has been alive to date,” said State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Donna Pettersen and Jeffrey Maylor prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of St. Mary’s County.
Detective Sergeant Austin Shultz of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office was the lead detective.
The Honorable Michael J. Stamm presided over the case.
UPDATE 2/27/2022: Additional arrests were made on February 26, 2022, in the fatal shooting that occurred in Lexington Park on January 12, 2022.
Jevontez Deqwon Davis, age 21 of Mechanicsville, and Thomas Darnell Evans, age 23 of Lexington Park, have been arrested and charged with the following:
- MURDER – FIRST DEGREE
- MURDER – SECOND DEGREE
- ASSAULT FIRST DEGREE – Six Counts
- ASSAULT SECOND DEGREE – Six Counts
- RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT FROM CAR
- FIREARM USE/FEL-VIOL CRIME
- HANDGUN IN VEHICLE
- LOADED HANDGUN IN VEHICLE
- HANDGUN ON PERSON
- LOADED HANDGUN ON PERSON
- MAL DEST PROP/VALU < $1,000
- MAL DEST MISSILES AT VEH.
Davis and Evans remain incarcerated at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown on a no-bond status
UPDATE 1/14/2022 @ 11:30 a.m.: According to court documents, Joseph James Oakes, age 19 of Lexington Park was in the vehicle with five other subjects at the time of his murder.
Oakes died from a gunshot wound to his upper body. A second victim sustained a gunshot wound to his right arm, and a third victim sustained an injury to his right leg from what appears to be a (bullet) grazing his leg.
Investigation revealed the shooting occurred on Pegg Road in the area of Ronald Drive, where officers recovered seven spent 9mm shell casings.
After the shooting the victim’s vehicle was then observed accelerating quickly and almost losing control.
Detectives were contacted by a confidential informant who stated the suspect is a male goes by the nickname of “Tooter”.
Another confidential informant was able to provide a nickname of “Big Toots” for the suspect involved in the shooting and gave a description of the dark colored 2015 Nissan Sentra that he drives, they also gave the suspects real name as Latres Cockerham.
Police learned Cockerham was currently being monitored by a court ordered GPS tracking device and it was confirmed Cockerham was on Pegg Road and in a vehicle when the shooting occurred based on the speed he was travelling.
Police spoke to the registered owner of the Nissan Sentra, and she told police that her boyfriend “Tooter” commonly used the vehicle while she was at work and that on the day of the murder, he drove her to work and had possession of the vehicle for the remainder of the day.
Cockerham told police that he was in possession, and sole operator of the 2015 Nissan Sentra while the registered owner was at work, and that he travelled on Pegg Road several times that day.
Latres Javontae Cockerham (Previous Booking Photo)
UPDATE 1/14/2022 @ 9:30 a.m.: Latres Javontae Cockerham, age 23 of Lexington Park, was arrested on Friday, January 14, 2022, and Charged with the murder of Joseph James Oakes, age 19 of Lexington Park.
Preliminary investigation determined the victims were traveling in a vehicle in the area of Pegg Road and Watt Drive in Lexington Park when they were shot. The vehicle continued onto Westbury Boulevard and ultimately came to a rest after striking the median.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Taylore Nauman at (301) 475-4200 extension 78109.
Latres Javontae Cockerham was charged with the following:
- MURDER – FIRST DEGREE
- MURDER-SECOND DEGREE
- ATT 1ST DEG. MURDER (Five Counts)
- ATT 2ND DEG. MURDER (Five Counts)
- ASSAULT-FIRST DEGREE (Five Counts)
- ASSAULT-SEC DEGREE (Five Counts)
- HANDGUN IN VEHICLE
- LOADED HANDGUN IN VEHICLE
- HANDGUN ON PERSON
- LOADED HANDGUN ON PERSON
- FIREARM USE/FEL-VIOL CRIME
Updates will be provided later today.
UPDATE 1/13/2022 @ 1:40 p.m.: The deceased victim has been identified as Joseph James Oakes, age 19 of Lexington Park.
UPDATE 1/13/2022 @ 12:30 a.m.: Police recovered seven shell casings and other evidence on Pegg Road after the shooting.
UPDATE 1/12/2022 @ 9:45 P.M., On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 3:21 p.m. deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 21400 block of Pegg Road, in the area of Westbury Boulevard in Lexington Park, for the reported shooting.
Deputies arrived on scene and located two male victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Lifesaving measures were attempted, but a 19-year-old victim from Lexington Park, was pronounced deceased on scene. A 17-year-old victim, also from Lexington Park, was flown to an area trauma center for treatment.
Detectives and crime lab personnel from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene and continued the investigation.
Preliminary investigation determined the victims were traveling in a vehicle in the area of Pegg Road and Watt Drive in Lexington Park when they were shot. The vehicle continued onto Westbury Boulevard and ultimately came to a rest after striking the median.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Taylore Nauman at (301) 475-4200 extension 78109.
Citizens may remain anonymous and contact Crime Solvers at (301) 475-3333, or text a tip to “TIP239” plus their message to “CRIMES” (274637). Through the Crime Solvers Program tipsters are eligible for an award of up to $1,000 for information about a crime in St. Mary’s County that leads to an arrest or indictment.
The third victim was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting and suffered an injury as a result from the incident, however, it is unknown how the victim obtained the injury and police are still investigating. Emergency personnel initially reported the injury was a gunshot wound.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., emergency medical personnel responded to the 23000 block of Camden Way in California and transported a 18-year-old male to an area hospital for unknown injuries.
Updates will be provided when they become available.
UPDATE 1/12/2022 @ 4:05 p.m.: Crews on the scene reported a third victim arrived on the scene with a gunshot wound to the upper leg, the injuries were reported as non-life-threatening. The gunshot victim with CPR in progress has been declared deceased on the scene.
1/12/2022 @ 3:30 p.m.: On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at approximately 3:23 p.m., police, fire and rescue personnel responded to the area of Westbury Boulevard and Warwick Drive in Lexington Park, for the reported shooting with multiple victims.
Crews arrived on the scene to find a single vehicle collision with one gunshot victim laying outside of the vehicle not breathing.
Firefighters pronounced CPR in progress on one victim and located a second gunshot victim a short time after arrival..
Maryland State Police Helicopter Trooper 7 has been requested for the second victim with reported non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are on the scene and the area will be closed for an extended period of time. The vehicle was struck by projectiles at least six times.
Updates will be provided when they become available.
