Open Murder Probable Cause Hearing Adjourned
Jermaine Cooper has had his probable cause hearing adjourned until the 3rd of February in the Kent County Circuit Court, in order for the defense attorney to investigate the case further. Both the prosecutor and the defense agreed to the delay.
According to Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Kellee Koncki, Cooper has sent at least one text message to his children, which the prosecution believes is incriminating. This information came out in court at the most recent hearing. Cooper’s defense attorney then decided that he needed to investigate the information further in order to provide his client with a good defense.
Cooper has two children, a 15-year-old son from a former relationship, and an 11-year-old son that he shared with Melissa Moore, the woman he is accused of killing. Koncki asked the Judge to forbid Cooper any contact with people who will be called to testify. Specifically, this includes his children.
But the defense attorney disagreed, saying that the request was “unreasonable”, and that the children should be free to visit their father in jail if they wished to. Koncki argued further, claiming that visiting their father could put undue pressure on the children. And the Judge was inclined to side with the prosecution on this one, denying Cooper access to any scheduled subpoenaed witnesses, including his own children.
Cooper is accused of shooting his former girlfriend, Melisa Moore, in November, on the street in Grand Rapids. He was arrested on December 4th, following a 7 hour stand-off with police in Detroit. He is charged with felony firearm and open murder.
According to police records, Cooper and Moore had been arguing the night before, and they were together in the early morning hours when she was killed. A street cleaning crew collecting leaves heard the gunfire, saw her fall to the ground, and saw the shooter drive away in a vehicle matching the description of Cooper’s car.
Police searched for and tracked Cooper for almost a month following Melissa’s death, before finally getting a warrant for his arrest. If convicted, he is facing the possibility of up to life in prison.