Suspect Charged in Deadly Walmart Shooting

Walmart storefront with American flag and outdoor garden center — Photo: ARTYOORAN / Shutterstock

A man accused of gunning down his estranged wife outside a Pennsylvania Walmart entered the United States through a Biden-era parole program before his legal status was later revoked, according to federal officials.

Story Snapshot

Destino Jean-Louis faces first-degree murder, third-degree murder and firearm charges in the October 21 killing of Latosha Cooper, 45, outside a Walmart in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
Cell phone records and surveillance video reportedly placed Jean-Louis at the store and showed him pacing before Cooper left work.
Prosecutors say the pair obtained a marriage license tied to Jean-Louis’s immigration status before the relationship broke down.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says Jean-Louis entered the country in 2023 through the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parole program and lost legal status in 2025.

Charges Filed in Cheltenham Walmart Killing

Montgomery County prosecutors charged Jean-Louis with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and related firearm offenses after Cooper was shot and killed in the Walmart parking lot in Cheltenham Township on October 21. She had just finished her shift at the store. Jean-Louis awaits a preliminary hearing, and no attorney was publicly listed for him at the time of the charges.

Investigators say Jean-Louis denied being at the Walmart when detectives questioned him, telling them he was at a relative’s apartment instead. When confronted with his own cell phone data, he said he could not explain how it placed him at the scene. He also denied ever owning a firearm, according to court records cited by reporters.

Evidence Ties Suspect to Scene

Cell phone records showed repeated trips between Jean-Louis’s Philadelphia home and the Walmart, and placed his phone in the parking lot at the time Cooper was shot, according to court records reviewed by The Reporter Online. A search warrant executed at a Philadelphia residence turned up a sandwich bag holding eleven rounds of.22-caliber ammunition. Surveillance footage described in the criminal complaint reportedly shows Jean-Louis pacing near the store before Cooper walked out.

These details come from police affidavits and news accounts of the charging documents, not a full public release of the complaint, video files, or ballistics results. The case remains in its early stages, and a charge is not a conviction.

Marriage License and Immigration Motive

Philadelphia marriage-license records show Jean-Louis and Cooper were issued a license on March 31, according to Patch, which reported that the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office described the union as a “sham marriage” tied to immigration status. Reports describe the two as former romantic partners whose relationship had deteriorated before the shooting.

Parole Program Entry and Status Revocation

DHS sources told Fox News that Jean-Louis entered the United States from Haiti in 2023 through the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans created under the Biden administration. Those same sources said his legal status was revoked in 2025, before Cooper’s killing. The available reporting does not show what screening occurred before his entry or detail why his parole ended.

Cases like this one often get tied quickly to arguments about immigration policy itself. But a single criminal case, however serious, cannot prove or disprove a broader pattern. Multiple academic reviews, including work funded by the Department of Justice’s research arm, have found no consistent link between higher immigrant populations and higher crime rates nationwide. One analysis of 51 separate studies found immigration levels had a weak, negative relationship with crime in American communities.

What Happens Next

Jean-Louis’s case moves next to a preliminary hearing in Montgomery County, where prosecutors will need to show enough evidence for the murder and firearm charges to proceed to trial. No ballistic match, weapon recovery, or forensic report tying the recovered ammunition directly to the shooting has been made public. The case will test both the strength of the cell phone and surveillance evidence and the broader claims about the marriage’s purpose.