A 23-year-old Haitian man, Destino Jean-Louis, has been charged with the murder of Latosha Ann Cooper, 45, following a shooting outside a Walmart in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, on October 21, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Jean-Louis entered the United States legally through a migrant parole program initiated by the Biden administration.
Jean-Louis arrived in the U.S. on November 24, 2023, via Fort Lauderdale International Airport, utilizing the CHNV parole program designed for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. However, his legal status was revoked on June 12, 2025, after overstaying his welcome, according to DHS sources. On October 23, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Philadelphia and is currently under investigation for homicide by the Montgomery County authorities.
According to court documents and statements from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Jean-Louis and Cooper had a relationship that reportedly involved an immigration-related marriage arrangement. After Cooper withdrew her support for Jean-Louis’s green card application in July 2026, he allegedly attempted to contact Walmart employees to obtain her work schedule.
On the night of the shooting, Jean-Louis is believed to have awaited Cooper outside the Walmart. Witnesses reported that as Cooper conversed with a co-worker in the parking lot, a masked man, identified as Jean-Louis, approached and fatally shot her. Investigators have cell phone records linking him to the location at the time of the incident and confirmed he had visited the store several nights prior.
Jean-Louis, who had formerly worked at the same Walmart, faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, illegal use of a firearm as an illegal alien, carrying a firearm without a license, and possession of an instrument of crime. He has denied being present during the shooting.
He remains incarcerated without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for Walmart and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for further comment were unsuccessful.
