A delivery driver has received his sentence for the shooting of a YouTube prankster, Tanner Cook, who had followed him around a mall food court earlier this year.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Snow sentenced Colie on Thursday, ruling on a case that had captured public attention.
The incident in question occurred on April 2 at the food court in Dulles Town Center, Virginia, and led to panic among shoppers who feared a mass shooting was unfolding. Cook, 21, who operates the Classified Goons YouTube channel, recorded the encounter with Alan W. Colie - a 31-year-old DoorDash driver - which quickly went viral.
The video, captured by Cook's associates, depicted the brief but startling interaction between Cook and Colie.
In the footage, Cook approached Colie, who was picking up a DoorDash order. Cook, standing at 6-foot-5, loomed over Colie while holding a cellphone just inches from his face. Through a Google Translate app, the phone repeatedly broadcasted the phrase, "Hey dips***, quit thinking about my twinkle."
Despite Colie's requests for Cook to stop and attempts to back away, Cook continued to advance. Colie, in an apparent act of self-defense, attempted to knock the phone away before pulling out a gun and shooting Cook in the lower left chest.
During the trial, Colie pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In September, Colie had been acquitted of aggravated malicious wounding, but the jury was divided on two lesser firearms charges. His attorney, Adam Pouilliard, argued the inconsistency of the conviction given the acquittal on self-defense grounds, per NBC News.
Ultimately, the jury convicted him of discharging a firearm within a building and acquitted him of the charge of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
In an interview with WUSA9 following the acquittal, Cook said that he plans to continue releasing videos to his channel. When asked if he was disappointed in the jury's decision to acquit Colie, he said: "I really don't care, it is what it is. It's God's plan, at the end of the day." He also stated that he earns between $2,000 and $3,000 per month from his channel.
Cook’s channel currently boasts over 60,000 subscribers, and he has continued to share controversial prank videos to his channel since the shooting, including one where he gets detained by officers at an airport.
Judge Snow's sentencing took into account Colie's time served in custody since his arrest in April. His concealed carry permit will also be revoked.
He did face a potential maximum prison sentence of five years.
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