Frederick man ordered to serve 40 years for 2021 murder of Brunswick teen

Ceoli Jacoby, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Updated ·2 min read

A Frederick man was ordered to serve 40 years in prison on Thursday for the murder of a Brunswick teen in 2021.

Tyree Ronell DeAngelo Haynes, 24, has been held at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center since June 24, 2021, when he was apprehended in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old Malakai Cooke.

Haynes pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder on April 24 of this year. On Thursday, Frederick County Circuit Judge Scott Rolle sentenced Haynes to life in prison, suspending all but 40 years.

Upon his release from prison, Haynes will be required to serve five years of supervised probation, during which time he will be prohibited from contacting Malakai Cooke’s family.

Haynes will also be required to undergo evaluations and treatment for mental health as well as alcohol and drug abuse, according to a press release from the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday.

On April 16, 2021, Malakai Cooke was found dead in the parking lot of the Country Inn and Suites on Spectrum Drive in Frederick. Police said he was shot four times, including twice in the back.

Court filings indicate that prior to his death, Malakai Cooke told others he feared a person he owed money to would kill him. He reportedly began staying with friends in order to protect his immediate family from harm, according to previous News-Post reporting.

Katey Cooke, the mother of Malakai Cooke, read an impact statement on Thursday in which she said Haynes stalked her son for months.

“I will never see Kai graduate high school,” Katey Cook said in court. Malakai Cooke was in his junior year at Brunswick High School when he died, according to his obituary.

Another individual, 21-year-old Edward Akwasi Dwimoh of Frederick, was also charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with Cooke’s killing.

That case was transferred from circuit court to juvenile court in August 2022, as Dwimoh was 17 at the time of the incident. Juvenile court records are not public.