Kriti Mehrotra
When Farron Cooper was heinously murdered in the middle of the street in the early evening of August 9, 2022, his community didn’t hesitate to cooperate with local authorities. In fact, as explored in A&E’s ‘The First 48: A House Divided,’ 8 witnesses came forward to testify about what had transpired within moments, and 2 others later positively identified the perpetrator. Even with these aspects, it took a while since the assailant went on the run, but investigators were ultimately able to secure some much-needed justice for the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native.
Farron Cooper Had Just Been Released From Jail When He Was Fatally Shot
Born and raised in the wondrous city most famously known as the Oil Capital of the World, Farron Cooper was a high school graduate with big dreams by the time 2022 rolled around. The Union High School alum was 23, a proud soon-to-be father of 4, and an undeniable music enthusiast who hoped to one day make a name for himself in the industry as a hip-hop star/rapper. He truly enjoyed being part of the music scene while providing for his growing family, but things changed for the young man around late May or early June as he found himself in jail.
It’s unclear why Farron was detained or what charges he faced, but he was released roughly 2 months later, on August 9. According to records, among the first things he did upon gaining his freedom was meet up with a couple of close friends and head over to his baby mama’s house to see his young children. It was 5:57 pm when emergency services received their first call about an open shooting almost right in front of her home near East 46th Street North and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
A few minutes later, another 911 call came in for the same incident, and they requested both the ambulance and the police. When first responders arrived at the scene minutes later, 23-year-old Farron was found lying in a pool of his own blood in the middle of the street – he was clearly shot, but he was breathing. He was subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. His autopsy later confirmed his cause of death to be from the 2 bullet wounds he sustained; one to the stomach and one to the hip.
Early Investigations Into Farron Cooper’s Murder Made It Clear He Spent His Last Few Hours At His Baby Mama’s House
After Farron was transported for medical intervention, officials immediately taped off the crime scene and began canvassing the area to figure out precisely what transpired. They spoke to the 911 callers, eyewitnesses, neighbors, and his baby mama before learning within 30 minutes that he had passed away, following which the homicide unit took the lead. They asked two locals who’d seen the incident, as well as his 8½-month-pregnant baby mama, to accompany them to the station for interviews, leading to the unraveling of the truth.
Farron’s baby mama told detectives that they had called things off as a couple nearly 2 weeks before he went to jail, but he came over that fateful afternoon to see his children. She didn’t indicate it was strange in any capacity as he was and wanted to continue being a present father, but she did allege they got into an argument a short while later. According to her recorded statement, he was drunk and at some point started to threaten that he would take her belongings, including the big screen television in the living room. When investigators asked if she called anyone for help, she asserted she didn’t because she knew her ex-boyfriend was not the kind of man to turn needlessly violent.
However, when pushed further, she admitted she already had someone with her at home – she claimed he was a childhood friend, but it came to light that he was her new beau. She subsequently changed her narrative a little, indicating to officials that the latter had arrived roughly half an hour before Farron and his friends, with things seeming amicable at first. In fact, she claimed the situation was such that her ex-boyfriend’s friends even left after a long while, only for the mood to take a turn when her new partner’s gun allegedly went missing. As per her statements, it was so tense that the friends were called back so that their vehicle could be checked despite hours having passed, but it yielded nothing.
Farron Cooper Was Killed in a Confrontation Gone Wrong
Farron’s ex-girlfriend and baby mama alleged that her sister had already been planning to come over to take the kids for a while, so she was there after the friends’ car was cleared. She then revealed he was putting their kids in her sister’s vehicle when she rushed inside to grab some diapers and wipes, only to suddenly hear gunshots and then find him in the middle of the street. She claimed she had no idea what happened, but she saw the blood and immediately grabbed a t-shirt or anything else that she could to put pressure on his wounds until help showed up. By that point, detectives had also spoken with the two primary eyewitnesses and learned much more about the situation. It turns out a black truck was involved in the ordeal, and the shooter later took off on foot.
According to the eyewitnesses, Farron was helping his kids get settled into a car while his baby mama’s new boyfriend was nearby when a black truck pulled up, and 4 men got out. They claimed it looked like the driver had no idea what kind of situation he’d just pulled into, but the man who came out of the back passenger side already seemed charged as he walked to Farron. They alleged the stranger pulled out a gun, driving the family man to say something along the lines of “dude, not in front of my kids” before trying to either shove the weapon away or gain control of it. That’s when they heard 3 gunshots, they declared to investigators, with the first seeming accidental but the other two seeming much more deliberate.
As per the eyewitnesses, the baby mama’s new beau was shot in the leg, and the second shot that the victim bore was after he was already lying on the ground and badly bleeding. They then claimed that the other three men finally jumped into action and put the former in the truck while screaming at the shooter to “run” before fleeing the scene themselves. In the hours to follow, they confirmed that the dark hoodie they found along a path near the crime scene was the same one eyewitnesses saw the shooter wearing. Then, they heard from a confidential informant that the assailant was a young man who went by the name of “Q-Blood,” picked up the new boyfriend after he was discharged from the hospital, and brought him in for questioning.
Quentin Caldwell is Currently Incarcerated in an Oklahoma State Prison
Farron’s baby mama’s new beau initially seemed hesitant to speak with officials, but he opened up a little after learning that his girlfriend had already talked to them in detail. However, he didn’t provide them with much new information and initially also tried to pretend he had no idea who the men in the truck were. In fact, he claimed they helped and dropped him off at the hospital only after he offered them money, just for it to come to light that he’d called them as backup after the argument with Farron. Nevertheless, it still took a while for him to confess that “Q-Blood” was the shooter before identifying him as “Quinn” and giving the detectives his number.
Quinn was subsequently identified as Quentin Lamar Caldwell III – he had no prior convictions, but he was reportedly known on the streets as “Q-Blood.” Investigators got an arrest warrant for him within 36 hours of the shooting, yet he was nowhere to be found. He was not at his parents’ home, his baby mama’s place, or anywhere else he usually frequented. The case thus came to a standstill, that is, until 18 months later, when Farron’s mother saw him in a residential area.
Therefore, Quentin was arrested at his new home in Tulsa at around 9:30 pm on March 13, 2024, and almost immediately brought in for questioning. According to his interrogation tape, he tried to downplay his responsibility by indicating the entire ordeal was an accident, and he hadn’t intended to hurt anyone. However, eyewitness records and evidence indicated otherwise, leading him to ultimately plead guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter in exchange for 20 years in prison. So, today, at age 24, he is incarcerated at the Chief James Smith Correctional Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.
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