No charges filed in Thursday night melee

CEDAR RAPIDS – Accused of trying to kill a woman Thursday night, Howard L. Cooks Jr., was released from jail this afternoon after prosecutors reviewed police reports.

“I reviewed the police reports and statements in great detail and concluded there was insufficient evidence to file any charges,” Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden wrote in an email.

Cooks, 32, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, false imprisonment, intimidation with a weapon and assault causing serious injury after the incident at his residence, 1036 11th St. NE, police said.

Officers were sent to the area about 10 p.m. for a report of gunshots. A short time later, police received a call from Anita Shade, 37, of Cedar Rapids, who said she had been robbed and assaulted.

Shade told officers she'd gone to Cooks' home to meet a friend. She told police she'd never met Shade, but when he came downstairs an argument broke out over “relationships between Shade and Cooks,” police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said.

In the ensuing altercation, Cooks was stabbed in the torso and Shade said she was punched and pistol-whipped. Officers also recovered shell casings from two shots Cooks is believed to have fired.

When police arrived to Cooks' house to investigate, they learned he had already been taken to St. Luke's Hospital for treatment. Shade, who called police from about a block away, was transported to St. Luke's by ambulance.

Shade was treated and released for injuries to her face, and Cooks was taken to the Linn County Jail after treatment. He was released after Vander Sanden declined to press charges.

“Both gave wildly conflicting accounts about the incident,” Vander Sanden wrote.  “Their accounts were so conflicting and contradictory that I didn't believe a judge or jury could determine with any degree of certainty what happened that lead Cook to be admitted to the hospital with a laceration wound to his torso.  The complainant admitted using a knife to injure Cook and there were no independent witnesses to the incident.  That is a long way of saying that I did not believe either account to be credible enough to warrant criminal charges.”