Ann Arbor man pulled handgun on two people during dispute over marijuana, police say
A man was arrested Monday night, accused of pulling a handgun on two people who were in his car during a dispute about a previous marijuana deal, Ann Arbor police said.
Jamal Rashad Cooper, 23, of Ann Arbor, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, court records show.
Cooper
He was scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at the Washtenaw County Jail.
Police said Cooper pulled a gun on a man and woman he knows at 11 p.m. Monday in his car on South Maple Road and threatened them because he claimed they owed him money from the previous marijuana deal.
Officers responded and arrested Cooper after one of the victims called police, Lt. Mark St. Amour said. Police seized the handgun.
Cooper is prohibited from having a firearm because he's a felon, records show. He was paroled Oct. 6, 2010, after serving nearly five years in prison for larceny from a person and assault with intent to rob while unarmed.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
Sallyxyz
Thu, Oct 20, 2011 : 1:11 p.m.
Lock him up again for a very long time.
aawolve
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
If Ann Arbor is afraid of the rowdy teens in Saline, stuff like this must be truly terrifying.
Hmm
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:03 p.m.
If only we had legal businesses where people could purchase their cannabis without fear of being accosted by gun toting thugs. A place that could be regulated and taxed by the state and city. If only we had something like that...
Ricebrnr
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 6:38 p.m.
jeez, again I'm all for it. But hey split those hairs all you want... <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=marijuana+clinic+robbery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" rel='nofollow'>http://www.google.com/search?q=marijuana+clinic+robbery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a</a>
aawolve
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 4:30 p.m.
@ricebrnr- One, or a few incidents compared to almost daily reports of drug deals gone bad? Not comparable.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 4:24 p.m.
Hey I'm all for legalizing it, I'm just saying precedence indicates (and not just locally) that it doesn't mean that it will be safer.
racerx
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 4:07 p.m.
@Hmm-I'm with you. This was probably a very small amount of cannabis and two people had a gun pointed at them which could've ended up much worst. Legalize it. Take the criminal element out.
Hmm
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 3:53 p.m.
I get the point you're trying to make Riceburnr, but that's apples and oranges. There's a big difference in going to a business and some random criminals come in and unfortunately rob the place, and going to a business and the OWNER pulls a gun on you and tells you you owe them money. If the dispensary owners in that link pulled guns on their customers and demanded payment then that would be the same scenario but it was just a standard robbery that took place. Robberies happen to any other type of business as I sure you're well aware.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
Well...for a short period we did but that did not mean those patrons weren't being accosted by gun toting thugs either... The anniversary of the linked event just passed actually. <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-police-say-gunmen-bound-employee-patients-during-robbery-at-ann-arbor-medical-marijuana-cl/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-police-say-gunmen-bound-employee-patients-during-robbery-at-ann-arbor-medical-marijuana-cl/</a>
clownfish
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:30 p.m.
Then we could not complain about our taxes going to support criminals. What would we complain about? Oh, right, the way the people that go to these shops look, dress and vote. Oh well, better to have this stuff out on the streets where it belongs, so says our AG.
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 12:30 p.m.
@Ryan, The ACLU would have a real fit if they went back to using the stocks.
clownfish
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:06 p.m.
As they should. #8- Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. A very conservative supreme court has ruled that tying people to poles is in fact cruel.
Ryan
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:26 a.m.
He was incarcerated for nearly 5 years prior to this and he's been paroled for a year. That means he's been locked up since he was about 17. If anyone expects him to be able to get a legitimate job you are fooling yourself. People with college degrees and no criminal records don't have a job. I see a lot of comments here about prison; what about rehabilitation? Putting people in cages has been used for as long as people have been around and it has not proven successful at preventing future crimes. Can we not come up with a better way? What about combining hard labor with public humiliation? Anyone remember reading about the stocks? I know we have 100's if not 1000's of miles of roads that could be repaved by convict labor. Anything is better than paying to support this guy in a cage for the rest of his life. Here is Michigan we spend more on prisons than we do on higher education and that is sick. If we don't figure out what to do with our massive convict/parolee population we will jail ourselves into bankruptcy. Every person that we jail is supported on the taxpayer dime. Most parolees that we release add to the burden on the rest of us as they are unable to find jobs and a lot of them relapse back into crime. Criminals don't pay taxes and we have to pay to prosecute and incarcerate them. We also pay to supervise their release. We as a society have to seriously address the problems with our justice system before we are stuck with no money and too many angry, alienated fighting age men to handle.
Sallyxyz
Thu, Oct 20, 2011 : 1:19 p.m.
The prison system in the US is a warehouse and very very few inmates ever make a successful life after parole. The problems start with a society unwilling to commit the resources necessary for training and support for those in poverty so they can enter society as contributing members rather than turning to a career of crime and filling the prisons. These problems are not going to go away, and instead society and politicians have decided to spend the resources on building more and more prisons that aren't working. The justice system is a revolving door, and doesn't rehabilitate most inmates; rather most parolees end up back in the prison system after more tragedy and crimes are committed. Society has made this decision.
Mike
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:58 p.m.
Road gangs....now there's an idea............
Ricebrnr
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:39 p.m.
Weird I thought that statistics have proven that it's been 100% successful at preventing future crimes from those incarcerated WHILE they are incarcerated...at least upon regular citizens such as you or I.
cinnabar7071
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
Ryan thats just a excuse not to try. I have a friend that spent 8 years in prison for delivery of coke and is currently employed making $200K +. He did get a degree while in prison and turned that into a masters upon his release tho. Its all about hard work. I fully agree you on using prison labor
anti-thug
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 1:42 a.m.
"What more can I say? it's the life in hood on south maple" LOL
RJA
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 10:11 p.m.
Humm...we all know that Marijuana and Guns don't mix well together. Two people could have been shot. Great Job Police! At least he had a job? (joke) I am so glad that there are still real jobs available. He really needs to be put to work in prison.
anti-thug
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 1:48 a.m.
marijuana should be illegal so that you buy it at krogers instead of at south-maple
Mr. Ed
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 9 p.m.
At least he was working . Given him a break, the marijuana business has been tough in A2.
Mike
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:57 p.m.
Good point Mr. Ed
Mike
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:34 p.m.
Another good reason to legalize it.......it's obviously been good for him.
cinnabar7071
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:20 p.m.
1 Year and 12 days, must have been homesick.
Ricebrnr
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
Why there could be a heap more gun charges than just felon in possession. IF the gun laws don't stop criminals from getting them and the law is not going to bother charging them, why bother having the laws?
Ricebrnr
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:36 p.m.
Interesting that a question on why existing laws that were allegedly broken are not being used against the accused would generate a call for "wild west enforcement". Perhaps you should define what you mean by that? Certainly not vigilantism as I believe that would be against the rules.
clownfish
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 2:03 p.m.
Why bother having laws regarding banks, auto dealers, insurance companies, food safety and speed? Everybody knows they are ignored. Laws don't work, what we need is Wild West enforcement, everybody should be responsible for enforcing their own version of regulation. And, it would save money not having those pesky unionized police dragging the country down.
smokeblwr
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:52 p.m.
Hey man, you're harshin' our buzz!
Joe_Citizen
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 7:41 p.m.
Another coward I see, and from A2, is this how A2 raises there kids.
anti-thug
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 : 1:46 a.m.
nope it's how south-maple low-income housing raised them....
eom
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 10:28 p.m.
Really? This incident is proving how thousands of Ann Arborites are raising their kids!? This is another example of how this form of "paper" lacks any credibility whatsoever.
smokeblwr
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:08 p.m.
I thought AA kids were taught to consume the sticky icky, not sell it. That is why they are so mellow and not acting up at HS football games.
porchbear
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 8:02 p.m.
A2 raises their kids to know the difference between their and there.
treetowncartel
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 7:37 p.m.
Actually, it looks like it was closer to 4:25 or 4:30.
Joe_Citizen
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 7:42 p.m.
ha ha ha, good one.
smokeblwr
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 7:19 p.m.
Wow, I'm guessing it was 4:20 when they booked him.