Charging Documents: North Baltimore man allegedly followed, killed person who stole his truck
BALTIMORE -- A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shooting two men and killing one of them as they were stealing his pickup truck from a North Baltimore neighborhood in August 2023, according to charging documents.
Kyle Cooper, 32, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 66-year-old Eric Gill. He was taken into custody on Tuesday for a crime that was committed on August 31, authorities said.
Gill and his companion, 42-year-old Wayne Brown, were both shot while trying to flee in the truck. The two had allegedly set their sights on Cooper's white 2004 Ford F350 after experiencing some difficulties stealing a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked in the 4900 block of Gillray Drive, according to charging documents.
The catalytic converter theft failed because the owner of the vehicle was able to disrupt the process, which prompted Gill and Brown to leave the area in Brown's white Cadillac, per court records.
At some point, the Cadillac became disabled, and the duo ditched it in the 1000 block of Hollen Road, per court records. That's when they set their sights on Cooper's pickup truck.
Cooper chased after Gill and Brown after discovering that his truck was being stolen, according to charging documents.
Investigators learned that Gill and Brown had headed eastbound in the 1000 block of Hollen Road in Cooper's truck around 6:10 a.m. Video footage they obtained shows a person exiting a house on Chinquapin Parkway and getting into the passenger seat of a black vehicle that then followed the truck, per court records.
"Video evidence was recovered by investigators with at least one [of] the systems having been equipped with audio as well as video," court records state. "A male's voice can be heard screaming 'Get the *** out of the car, get out, get out, get out,' immediately followed by five (5) gunshots that are then followed by four (4) more."
Investigators believe that Cooper's mother, who owned the black vehicle, was driving it at the time that Cooper began discharging a weapon, according to charging documents.
Following the two bursts of gunfire, there was a brief pause followed by "a crashing sound" along with "a vehicle's engine revving loudly," per court records.
After that, there were three additional gunshots followed by silence, court records state.
That morning, police found Cooper's truck unoccupied with the engine running. It had crashed into the rear of a parked light blue Toyota Solara, according to charging documents.
Officers noted that its engine had been popped. They found a screwdriver and reciprocating saw inside of it. Gill was found unresponsive on the street and declared dead by paramedics not long after they arrived at the crime scene, per court records.
Charging documents show that Cooper and his mother had returned to the house on Chinquapin Parkway after the shooting.
Investigators obtained a warrant and searched the house for evidence. Inside it, they found a Glock handgun box, gun holster, ballistic vest, and other items in a bedroom, court records state.
Cooper is prohibited from owning or possessing a handgun in the state of Maryland, according to authorities.
Charging documents show that he is facing charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, assault charges, and a myriad of gun-related charges.