Isaiah Lewis Cooper, 37, has been charged with hit and run in the fatal crash that killed 81-year-old Thomas Joseph Garrett on April 22 in White Center.
Cooper was initially arrested on May 16, but released on court order on May 20 as the deadline for charges had passed. The next day, May 21, the King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges. Cooper was arrested again on May 23. Bail was set at $500,000.
Garrett, also known as “Tommy Joe,” was killed April 22 when he was struck by an SUV at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Roxbury Street. The driver did not stop.
Surveillance footage showed an SUV that King County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified as a silver Jeep Compass.
Detectives spent the next few weeks talking to people at area businesses and homes and reviewing surveillance footage to track the SUV’s route before and after the fatal collision.
Eventually, they were able to see the license plate of the SUV as well as the driver, who they believe is Cooper.
