An April jury trial was set this morning for a Duluth teenager accused of shooting two Lincoln Park store clerks in the back more than three years ago.
Steven Albert Cooper, 18, is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree aggravated robbery in the Nov. 6, 2006, incident at the Interstate Spur station-convenience store at 2700 W. Michigan St.
Judge Mark Munger set the April 5 trial date in St. Louis County District Court after not guilty pleas were entered to all charges.
Cooper had just turned 15 at the time of the shootings.
The St. Louis County Attorney's Office filed a document with the court stating that it intends to seek a longer-than-guideline sentence for Cooper because the victims were particularly vulnerable -- being trapped in the counter enclosure -- and because they were treated with cruelty, among other reasons. St. Louis County prosecutor Charles Schumacher this morning argued for the enhanced sentence. Public defender Rebecca Shaw opposed the motion. Munger took the matter under advisement.
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Judge Shaun Floerke ruled in May 2007 that Cooper should stand trial as an adult. Floerke determined the evidence showed that Cooper in a cold, calm and calculated manner shot clerks Christopher Davis and Daniel Warner with no warning.
Police said Cooper shot Davis three times and, when Warner tried to escape over the service counter, Cooper shot him three times. The defendant reached into a till and took money.
Davis suffered a broken rib and a collapsed lung. Warner also sustained a collapsed lung. Each victim has one bullet lodged hear his spine that can't be removed because surgery could cause greater damage.
The state public defender's office appealed Floerke's decision to try Cooper as an adult. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed Floerke's decision in 2008, but the Minnesota Supreme Court asked it to take a second look based on a recent ruling about what evidence is permissible in deciding whether a juvenile case should go to adult court. When the Court of Appeals again dismissed the appeal, Cooper petitioned the Supreme Court for further review. The petition was denied.
