DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A Daytona Beach man is facing multiple charges after police said he violently attacked and threatened to kill a woman inside a home.
Daytona Beach police arrested Willie Cooks, 60, Tuesday night after a 911 dispatcher said they received a call from a woman who appeared to be in distress.
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According to an arrest affidavit, the incident began when Cooks approached the victim asking her to have sex while she was on the phone with her best friend. When the victim refused, Cooks became enraged, armed himself with a gun and threatened to kill her if she didn’t comply with his request, police said.
The victim told investigators that Cooks forcibly raped her, adding she believed she was going to be killed if she did not comply with his orders. After the assault, police said the altercation continued with Cooks biting the victim’s face and head several times. At one point, the victim was struck in the head with the firearm, the report states.
Police said the victim was able to obtain another firearm in the home and point it at Cooks to defend herself, but it was never discharged. Cooks then overpowered and disarmed her, the report states.
The victim described the physical altercation with Cooks as the “fight of her life,” saying she believed he was “absolutely going to kill her.”
Investigators said the victim offered oral sex as a means to deescalate the situation with Cooks, but it didn’t work.
When police arrived at the home, they heard the victim’s screams and heard several cries for help. They said they were able to make contact with the victim through a small bathroom ventilation window, but Cooks slammed the window shut. When police breached the front door, they said the victim was able to escape. Police said she was covered in blood and had significant injuries to her face and head.
Cooks was hesitant to comply with officers’ orders but eventually did so before being arrested.
Investigators said the home was in disarray with multiple furnishings and household items damaged, indicating a “severe, violent, and lengthy physical altercation had occurred.” The victim was taken to a hospital with multiple broken and chipped teeth, lacerations and injuries that will likely have permanent, lifelong scarring and tissue damage, the report said.
Cooks was booked into the Volusia County jail charged with kidnapping/false imprisonment, sexual battery with a victim and attempted homicide.
Police said additional charges are pending.
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