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In 1980, eighteen-year-old Tony Cooks was accused of murdering John Franklin Gould.  Gould, 42, had been accosted by three black teenagers one evening while he and his wife walked down a street near their Paramount apartment. Gould was beaten, stabbed, and shot.  Gould's wife told police that the assailant was “a light-skinned black.” Police showed her a photo-lineup in which Cooks was the only light-skinned black, and she told police, “I can't be positive, but I think that's him.”  However, at trial, Gould's wife would positively identify Cooks.

Another witness, Helen Foster, who said she saw the nighttime crime 177 feet from her apartment window, identified Cooks as one of the assailants.  Two days after Cooks' arrest, a 14-year-old youth was also arrested after he confessed to his involvement in the crime; the youth then accused Cooks as also being a participant in the crime.  Based on these identifications, Cooks was indicted for murder.

Cooks' first trial ended up in a hung jury; his second trial ended in a mistrial; his third trial ended in a hung jury. Finally, at his fourth trial, in 1981, Cooks was convicted of Gould's murder. However, the trial judge expressed skepticism about the eyewitness identifications and overturned the conviction.  The prosecutor appealed the judge's decision and an appellate court reinstated the conviction.  The judge, forced to pronounce sentence, ordered Cooks to prison for sixteen years to life, but freed him on $5,000 bond pending appeal.  On appeal Cooks won the right to a fifth trial.

In 1986, at Cooks' fifth trial, it was revealed that the 14 year-old eyewitness against Cooks had told his probation officer that his testimony was a “lie” he made up in order to satisfy a persistent detective who would not take "no" for an answer.  The fifth trial jury voted to acquit Cooks.  (Ramsey Dissertation)  [10/07]

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