Last year, Matthew Cook formed friendships with two men named Antonio Eubanks and Jon Dozier. The men were from the Rancho Cucamonga area, and began spending time together frequently. Matthew Cook, who had a learning disability, was thrilled to have made a couple of friends. Eventually, Eubanks even agreed to room with Cook at his apartment. Cook had the mental capacity of a teenager, but had been living on home with financial aid from his parents. He was also on his family's cell phone bill and his parents monitored his bank account. Cook attended special-ed classes frequently as a type of therapy.
Police later discovered that Eubanks met Cook at work and moved in with him. Police believe that Eubanks was taking advantage of Cook from the start of their friendship. There is no sign that the criminal ever paid rent, and evidence shows that he used Cook's cell phone frequently and that he started stealing money from Cook regularly. When Matthew's parents discovered that something was awry, they asked him to file a police report. Cook agreed and Eubanks left the apartment to live with his half-brother, Dozier.
When they got tight with money, they decided to steal Cook's finances. They invited him to an apartment complex where they smothered him with a pillow and then dumped his body into a trash can. The men tied him up with wire and wound his body up in a tarp before they left it in the rollaway dumpster in the garage. They then drove Cook's car to his apartment where they raided his home and stole his Playstation, money, and other commodities. Both men have been sentenced to a lifetime in prison without possibility of parole. If you have been charged with a violent crime or theft crime in the Rancho Cucamonga area, you want a person that you can trust on your side. Talk to a criminal defense lawyer at our firm to get quality representation in court.