Three Tennesee teens will be tried as adults in May’s fatal beating of an elderly laundromat worker who they allegedly attacked as they vandalized and robbed the business.
The Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted Jevon Brodie, 15, Tavares Harbison, 14, and Harrison Smith, 15, on first-degree murder charges in connection with an attack on Ted Cook, 71. Cook was working at a Clarksville laundromat the evening of May 30 when the three teens allegedly kicked him and repeatedly hit him with the butt of a rifle, according to Clarksville Now.
One of the teens allegedly aimed the weapon at Cook as he lay on the ground. Meanwhile, the pair is said to have flipped over a coin-operated arcade game, stealing approximately $34 dollars in coins. The newspaper reported that the assailants took Cook’s car keys and fled the scene.
The three suspects were taken into custody two days after the reported robbery. A previous article by the Leaf Chronicle indicated that one of the boys was 13 and the others were 14 when the incident occurred.
Cook died from his injuries on June 9. The newspaper indicated that Cook suffered brain bleeding and had to undergo emergency surgery during his hospitalization. An official cause of death is currently unclear.
In addition to first-degree murder charges, Harrison and Brodie are charged with especially aggravated robbery and theft of property.
[Featured image: Ted Cook/Clarksville Police Department]
