DULUTH, Minn. (KFGO/WCCO) – Steven Cooper, 31, served more than 13 years in prison after he was convicted of shooting two store clerks during a robbery at 15 years old. He has since been released from prison, but could be going back due to what he and others are calling an unfair situation.
In Duluth last July, Cooper was going through the belongings of his brother who recently died when he found a pistol inside a car they had been using for storage space.
Since he is a felon and currently on parole, Cooper said he immediately contacted his parole officer to turn it in.
Regardless, he is still being prosecuted and could potentially go back to jail.
“I was honest from the start,” Cooper said. “By doing the right thing, I am being punished.”
Many people are stepping up in support of the St. Louis Park man, including the Duluth NAACP and the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
Cooper is facing five more years in prison.
“For me, this is something I probably would have seen on TV and thought, ‘Damn, that’s egregious,’” Cooper said.
Cooper said the vehicle he found the weapon in was initially a gift from his brother that he was planning on selling because he hadn’t been using it. But after a conversation with his dad, he decided to keep it, leading to him cleaning it out and finding the firearm.
“I went to go clean it out. Found some bullets in the back. Found the gun. And immediately knew at that moment that I was supposed to do the right thing and call either 911 or my agent at the time,” Cooper said.
Cooper contacted his parole officer, who then contacted the police, following protocol.
“She assured me that everything was going to be okay, that I indeed had done a great thing,” Cooper said.
While his parole officer told Cooper she wasn’t sure what was going to happen when police arrived, she assured him she would vouch for him on the police report.
After the report was filed, Cooper was not sent back to prison following a hearing with the Minnesota Department of Corrections. He has since been charged with felony possession of a firearm and is facing another half-decade behind bars.
“I believe that this is like a bold injustice,” Cooper said, adding that he thinks this is why people are reaching out to him and trying to help.
Waking up every day, Cooper said he finds himself in disbelief that he’s in this situation.
While at first Cooper thought the situation was “pretty simple,” it has continued to snowball, and he said he thinks what he’s going through “should be heard by everyone” because it’s “insane.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for Cooper to help pay for his legal fees.
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