A 23-year-old Haitian man charged with murder in the shooting death of a Walmart employee in Pennsylvania came to the United States through a parole program created under the Biden administration, according to Department of Homeland Security sources who spoke with Fox News.
Destino Jean-Louis is accused of killing 45-year-old Latosha Ann Cooper outside a Walmart in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, on Oct. 21, according to court documents and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
DHS sources said Jean-Louis arrived legally on Nov. 24, 2023, at Fort Lauderdale International Airport under the CHNV parole program, which covered migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The sources said DHS revoked his legal status on June 12, 2025.
In a statement, DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Jean-Louis in Philadelphia on Oct. 23. He was handed over to local authorities on Oct. 26 and is under investigation for homicide by Montgomery County. The department said he "chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws."
Investigators say the attack followed the collapse of an arrangement tied to immigration. According to reports by FOX 29 and 6ABC Philadelphia, the two met while working at Walmart in 2024 and later married after Cooper allegedly offered to help him obtain a green card. His application was denied in July, and Cooper reportedly withdrew from the process and stopped communicating with him.
Court documents allege that Jean-Louis, a former employee of the same store, had previously assaulted Cooper and repeatedly contacted Walmart workers to learn her schedule. Investigators say he hid near bushes outside the store wearing a mask and waited for her night shift to end. District Attorney Kevin Steele said as much in describing the case. "When Cooper left the store, he ran towards her and fatally shot her," the court documents state.
A co-worker told police she was talking with Cooper in the parking lot when a masked man approached and shot her, 6ABC Philadelphia reported. Investigators also said cellphone records put Jean-Louis at the Walmart around the time of the shooting and on several nights beforehand. According to the same outlet, he denied being at the store when Cooper was killed.
Jean-Louis faces charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, an illegal alien use of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of an instrument of crime. He is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
A spokesperson for Walmart and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office could not immediately be reached for comment by Fox News Digital.
