--- description: Two officers who were trying to do a good deed ended up arresting a man Wednesday in connection with a stabbing death. Mykel Cantrel Cooper,... title: Cops Pay for Man's Meal, Then Arrest Him in Fatal Stabbing image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fac4386347fe1bd/6987787be53aba394f4d6dfc/ap581420654671-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Cops Pay for Man's Meal, Then Arrest Him in Fatal Stabbing by [Tara Fowler / People](/author/people/) ## Tara Fowler / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2015 2:46 AM CUT  This undated law-enforcement booking photo from the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Department shows Mykel Cantrel Cooper This undated law-enforcement booking photo from the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Department shows Mykel Cantrel CooperAP by [Tara Fowler / People](/author/people/) ## Tara Fowler / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2015 2:46 AM CUT Two officers who were trying to do a good deed ended up arresting a man Wednesday in connection with a stabbing death. Mykel Cantrel Cooper, 23, ordered and ate a meal at a Phoenix IHOP, but he couldn’t pay for it, so employees called the cops, reports [KPHO](http://www.kpho.com/story/27746810/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-tab-arrest-him-in-fatal-stabbing "undefined"). When they arrived on the scene, the two police officers paid Cooper’s tab themselves after they determined he had mental health issues. They then took him to a nearby facility for treatment, where Cooper told the mental health staff there that he had “done something bad” to his roommate. Police then went to his apartment, where they found the body of 29-year-old Steven Horkovy. Investigators believe he was stabbed to death on Dec. 30, according to [AZFamily](http://www.azfamily.com/news/Phoenix-man-accused-of-stabbing-roommate-to-death-287299871.html "undefined"). Cooper was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. His bond was set at $1 million. [_This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com_](http://www.people.com/article/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-then-arrest-him "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3657039/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-then-arrest-him-in-fatal-stabbing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3657039/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-then-arrest-him-in-fatal-stabbing/"},"headline":"Cops Pay for Man's Meal, Then Arrest Him in Fatal Stabbing","datePublished":"2015-01-07T02:46:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:21:06.116Z","description":"Two officers who were trying to do a good deed ended up arresting a man Wednesday in connection with a stabbing death. Mykel Cantrel Cooper,...","url":"https://time.com/3657039/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-then-arrest-him-in-fatal-stabbing/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fac4386347fe1bd/6987787be53aba394f4d6dfc/ap581420654671-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Fowler / People"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fac4386347fe1bd/6987787be53aba394f4d6dfc/ap581420654671-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mykel Cantrel Cooper","caption":"Mykel Cantrel Cooper","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3657039/cops-pay-for-mans-meal-then-arrest-him-in-fatal-stabbing/","name":"Cops Pay for Man's Meal, Then Arrest Him in Fatal Stabbing"}}]}] ```