DULUTH – A former Duluthian and felon who was controversially charged with gun possession after turning in a firearm will stay out of jail for his crime.
No jail time for convicted felon who turned in gun
Charges against Steven Cooper raised controversy after he called his parole officer in 2022 to say he had found a gun among his deceased brother’s possessions.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 28, 2024 at 8:13PM
Steven Cooper, 32, was sentenced Monday in St. Louis County District Court to five years of supervised probation. Judge Dale Harris opted to not follow minimum sentencing guidelines that call for prison time.
Cooper was charged with felony possession of a firearm by the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office in July of 2022, after he told his parole officer about finding a pistol and some ammunition among things in a vehicle left behind by his brother, who had recently died. Cooper had wrapped the gun in a sweatshirt and put it in a secure place inside his apartment building before calling the parole officer, who notified police.
After Cooper was charged, both the Duluth NAACP and the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus called on the county to drop the charges. Duluth NAACP President Classie Dudley said then that the charge sent the message that unregistered guns and guns in possession of people who shouldn’t have one shouldn’t turn them in.
At a 2023 NAACP news conference, Cooper said that he was “honest from the start. By doing the right thing, I am being punished.”
Cooper pleaded guilty last fall in hopes of asking for probation. He later withdrew it because attorneys said they learned his prior conviction wouldn’t allow such a sentence. Cooper shot two gas station clerks in 2006 when he was 15 and was convicted of attempted murder. He was released on parole after serving 13½ years.
On Monday, Harris cited case law that he said did allow for a downward departure from sentencing guidelines, and Cooper re-entered his guilty plea.
“I know this has been kind of a long and winding road, but I do think this is a fair and just result,” Harris told Cooper.
Cooper’s attorney Joseph Vaccaro said after the hearing that they believe “a fair offer was finally extended,” by the County Attorney’s Office.
“Mr. Cooper is relieved this matter is concluded and he can go on with his life,” Vaccaro said.
Cooper declined to make a statement during the remote hearing.
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