Donald Lee Cooper Jr.

Donald Lee Cooper Jr. was acquitted on Tuesday by a Minot jury of all charges he faced related to the January 2020 shooting death of Dominick Stephens.

Cooper had been accused of being in a vehicle along with the perpetrators of the pursuit and shooting of a vehicle driven by Stephens in Minot on Jan. 12, 2020, that ended with Stephens fatally shot. Cooper fled the state after the incident before he could be apprehended by authorities, but was charged with Class AA felony accomplice to murder, Class A felony attempted murder, Class C felony reckless endangerment, and Class C felony terrorizing.

Cooper’s co-defendants in the case had previously pleaded guilty to their charges, but Cooper’s case had been delayed by his prosecution in Wisconsin for causing the deaths of two individuals while fleeing authorities seeking to detain him for his alleged role in Stephens’ murder.

Cooper reportedly testified on his own behalf during the trial, testifying that while he had been in the vehicle at the time of the shooting as he had been dropped off at a Minot hotel before it occurred, a timeline that prosecutors disputed. After a week of testimony and two days of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty on all four charges. Cooper’s attorney Jeff Bredahl could not be reached for comment.

Pending the outcome of a separate charge against Cooper for Class B misdemeanor assault for allegedly assaulting another inmate in the Ward County Jail, Cooper will return to Wisconsin, where he is serving a 25-year sentence for his role in the Milwaukee incident.