TACOMA—A man formerly stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord was sentenced this month to 11 years to life in prison for breaking into a stranger’s apartment in Lakewood in 2018 and raping her while her children slept.
Derante Rashawn Cook was sentenced Dec. 22 to at least 11 years and four months in prison for the home invasion and sexual assault. Once that time is served, it will be up to a review board to decide whether Cook should be released from custody. He could spend his life behind bars.
If Cook is released, he will be required to register as a sex offender, and he will be under community supervision for life. Records state he had no prior criminal convictions.
The defendant was stationed at JBLM as recently as 2020, according to court records. Sometime that year, he moved to Texas and was stationed at Fort Hood, a military base that has faced scrutiny in recent years. There, Cook, 27, was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife, which required the man’s DNA to be taken. That’s what led Washington investigators to match Cook to DNA collected from the Lakewood rape kit.