A St. Joseph man made his first court appearance Tuesday in a manslaughter case.
48-year-old Hank Cooper appeared in front of Judge Keith Marquart for an arraignment in connection with the death of 36-year-old Robert J. Martinez.
Cooper is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
As we previously reported, police responded June 27 to find Martinez in the 1400 block of Penn Street seriously injured from an alleged assault. Martinez was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment where he later died.
According to court documents Cooper allegedly committed first-degree assault against Martinez by striking with his fists multiple times and hitting him with a wooden pole.
Cooper will apply for a public defender. A Counsel status hearing is scheduled for July 17. A Preliminary hearing was also set today for July 24.
Cooper is currently still behind bars on $100,000 bond.