For more than a year, we've been covering Steven Cooper's ongoing legal battles, but they've now come to an end. Cooper, you might recall, was arrested in July, 2022 in Duluth, Minnesota on a charge of felon-in-possession after he reported to his probation officer that he'd found a gun in his late brother's SUV and turned it over to the officer in person. 

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and the local chapter of the NAACP objected to the farcical nature of the felony charges against Cooper, with the 2A group noting in a letter to the St. Louis County prosecutor that Cooper was trying to do the right thing by informing the probation officer about the firearm as soon as he discovered it. 

Steven Cooper is no angel. When Cooper was 15 he shot two convenience store workers in the back during a robbery, and was sentenced to 20 years behind bars. While in prison, however, Cooper took steps to improve himself; earning an associates degree as well as certificates for things like welding and carpentry. After serving 13 1/2 years Cooper was released, but as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported last year, it wasn't an easy transition. 

Cooper has struggled with chemical dependency and was sent back to prison more than once for violating parole by using drugs. He hasn’t been charged with any new crimes apart from traffic violations, however.

The day before he found the gun, Cooper confessed to his parole officer that he was using drugs again. Cooper’s brother had recently overdosed on heroin laced with fentanyl.

“It took a toll on me,” Cooper said. “Life kind of spiraled out of control then, which I’m not blaming anything, but I did end up relapsing.”

Cooper found the gun the night before his parole officer was scheduled to meet with him to deliver a restructured agreement for his probation for using drugs. He found it in a compartment in the back of the Chevy along with ammunition. The car wasn’t operational, and Cooper had been using it for storage until he could get the transmission fixed. He believes the gun belonged to his brother, who was also on parole and not legally allowed to possess a gun.

Cooper wrapped the items up in a sweatshirt and placed them in a secure part of his apartment building, then handed the items over to the officer when he arrived, but found himself in handcuffs a short time later. 

Cooper and his attorneys contended that he was being punished for doing the right thing. As Cooper told reporters, he could have simply thrown the gun into a river, dropped it into some garbage, or even sold it on the black market, and his probation officer would have been none the wiser. 

Despite that argument and the pleas for leniency from the NAACP and MN Gun Owners caucus, prosecutors continued to move forward with their charges against Cooper. Last fall, Cooper entered a guilty plea in the hopes of receiving probation, but withdrew his plea when his attorneys informed him that his previous conviction for attempted murder didn't allow him a probationary sentence for possessing a gun as a prohibited person. 

Prosecutors still could have dropped the charges against Cooper after he withdrew his guilty plea, but they seemed determined to send him back to prison. On Monday, however, St. Louis County District Judge Dale Harris gave Cooper some good news. 

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.

I still believe the most just outcome for Cooper would have been prosecutors dropping the charges against him a couple of years ago, but at least he won't be returning to prison for trying to do the right thing. I know that Cooper has struggled at times since he was released from prison, and I hope that he has a support system in place that he can lean on when needed so that he can make the most out of this second chance he's been given.