A “demonic” MS-13 gang member was arrested and charged with robbing and dismembering an Uber Eats driver who had brought food to the killer’s house, police said on Tuesday. Oscar Solis Jr., 30, is charged with killing 59-year-old driver Randall Cooke during a delivery on Wednesday at a residence in Holiday, Florida, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said.
The horrific murder happened last week when Cooke was making his final delivery for the night. According to a police affidavit, Cooke’s bones were found at Solis’ home in trash bags and a cooler that also had a receipt with Solis’ name on it.
Killed for No Apparent Reason
According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Solis, 30, who moved to Florida in January after being released on parole from Indiana, reportedly “yanked” Cooke into his home on April 19 and killed him.
Cooke texted his wife to let her know he would be home shortly after finishing his last delivery of the evening, before being brutally murdered.
“He was just a guy trying to make a living for his family,” Nocco said at a press conference, calling the murder “demonic.”
“This was a horrific crime of passion,” Nocco said. “This was demonic. What he did was demonic.”
Cooke’s wife grew concerned after her texts went unanswered. She then contacted the police and reported him missing later that night.
When investigators contacted Uber Eats, they were told that Cooke was last seen that evening at a house in Holiday.
Deputies canvassed the house the day after Cooke vanished, but according to Nocco, nobody answered the door and there was nothing strange about the place. They went back the next day, April 21, and were able to speak with a resident who gave them access to CCTV footage from the preceding days.
According to Nocco, Cooke was spotted with the food order on the doorstep of the home on the night of April 19.
The following day’s footage showed Oscar Solis, a resident of the home, and another person dragging trash bags around the side of the building.
“Unfortunately, what we found inside some of those trash bags were human remains,” Nocco said.
Solis, a 315-pound security guard at a strip club, according to an affidavit, was arrested right away and charged with failing to register as a felon in Pasco County as authorities had enough information to charge him with murder.
Demonic Crime
Solis faces charges of murder while engaged in a robbery, failure to register as a convicted felon and for a parole violation, jail records show. The two men “didn’t seem to know each other,” according to the police, and they have not been able to determine Solis’ motivation.
“I kept asking what’s the connection? This was absolutely a horrific crime … But at the same time, we couldn’t answer the question: ‘Why?'” Said Nocco.
“All that appears is there was a gentleman who was working, he was doing his last delivery for the night, and this person killed him.”
The incident follows a string of recent random shootings of people approaching strangers’ houses, including one involving a couple in Davie, Florida, who were delivering an Instacart delivery when they accidentally went into the wrong driveway. They weren’t hurt either.
There was no attorney listed in the jail files who could represent Solis.
A jail photo shows Solis’ face covered with tattoos, and Nocco claimed Solis was connected to the MS-13 gang in Indiana.
Pixabay
According to the affidavit, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Solis worked as a security guard at a strip club in Florida.
Evidence found at the crime scene includes blood found throughout the home, and a key fob that belonged to Cooke was found on Solis’ dresser, sitting on top of his wallet.
“You’re talking about a violent individual that Indiana released and sent down to Florida,” he added angrily. “They released him on parole. Unfortunately, now we have a hardworking guy, a loving husband, who is no longer with us because this violent individual killed him.”
According to Cooke’s GoFundMe page, he had two stepdaughters and was the primary breadwinner of his family.
“The person that took the life of someone so giving and a heart of gold,” the page said, alongside a picture of Solis. “This is the guy that killed Randall. Please pray they get justice for Randall and he gets life in prison so he can suffer.”
Nocco said that the Cookes’ “soulmate” wife, who urgently texted her husband after he vanished, was distraught.
