Uber Eats driver’s body parts ‘dumped in trash bags by gang member’
The body parts of an Uber Eats driver who was making a food delivery were found in trash bags that a gang member allegedly disposed of.
Randall Cooke dropped off his wife before beginning his deliveries on April 19, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said on Tuesday. The couple were texting throughout the day until 7pm, when Cooke stopped replying.
Cooke’s wife reported him missing to law enforcement officials, who obtained his last known location from Uber. Cops responded to the address 3438 Moog Road in Holiday, Florida, where no one answered the door and they did not observe any suspicious activity or evidence, WFTS reported.
Two days later, on Friday, deputies returned to the home and a roommate of 31-year-old Oscar Solis Jr came to the door. The roommate provided a video of Cooke delivering a food order at 6.55pm the day he disappeared, but the recording ended there.
It seemed that Solis forced Cooke into the home and tried to rob him, according to the sheriff’s office. Solis was also captured on video taking garbage bags out of the home on Thursday. Deputies searched the bags and saw body parts.
Remains were also found in a cooler which had a receipt with Solis’ name, states a police affidavit.
‘This was a horrific crime of passion, this was demonic. What he did was demonic,’ said Nocco. ‘This person killed him for no reason.’
Cooke was ‘a guy like everybody else trying to make a living for his family’, the sheriff added.
Solis has ties to the MS-13 gang in Indiana, where he was released from prison on parole in January after finishing a four-year sentence for assault and burglary, according to the sheriff’s office.
He faces new charges of felony murder, parole violation and failing to register as a convicted felon.
Two other people were seen leaving the home about an hour before the killing, Nocco said. Detectives are trying to speak with them about the incident.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the sheriff’s office.
Cooke’s wife ‘did everything she could’ when he stopped responding’, Nocco said, ‘and evil just came’.
The murder happened a day after a female DoorDash driver was kidnapped and sexually battered while delivering food to the Residence Inn in Tampa, which is about 35 miles southwest of Holiday. The DoorDash driver was rescued by a family member who used her phone’s geolocation services and tracked down the suspect, 38-year-old Joseph Killins.
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