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Police say Charleston detective was murder target

Charleston Gazette photo by Kenny Kemp  Lt. Steve Cooper, shown talking with the media last week, is alleged to have been targeted in a murder-for-hire scheme.
Charleston Gazette photo by Kenny Kemp
Lt. Steve Cooper, shown talking with the media last week, is alleged to have been targeted in a murder-for-hire scheme.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster said police will “throw every available resource” into investigating a murder-for-hire plot against chief of detectives Lt. Steve Cooper.

Police on Monday morning charged Darrell Emmett “D.J.” Carter with solicitation to commit murder, following Carter’s weekend arrest on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the killing last week of Tymel McKinney, 19, of Charleston. Police say Carter offered two people $15,000 to kill Cooper, according to Webster and a criminal complaint on file in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” Webster said. He said police have been providing security for Cooper’s family since finding out about the plot over the weekend.

According to the criminal complaint, Carter met with Juhamar Bradshaw and a juvenile at Littlepage Terrace two weeks ago and offered to pay them $15,000 to kill Cooper. Half of the money was to be paid up front, the complaint said.

Webster said Carter was unhappy with the way Cooper handled a March 30 shooting incident that Carter was involved in on the city’s West Side. Carter and Dante Davis both were shot during an apparent scuffle on Stuart Street, but Carter was charged with malicious wounding.

That charge was later dismissed when Davis did not show up for a preliminary hearing.

Webster said Carter admitted to the murder-for-hire scheme while being questioned about McKinney’s shooting.

“Particularly when we have a police officer who’s a victim of a solicitation for murder, it’s extremely troubling,” Webster said. He said police are in contact with federal officials for advice about how to best handle the incident.

“The culture of violence we face is real,” Webster said…

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