LEESBURG, Va. — After two days of testimony, the man who shot a 21-year-old YouTuber inside Dulles Town Center on video in April has been found not guilty on two charges of malicious wounding.

The jury found Alan Colie not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding or use of a firearm for aggravated malicious wounding, however, he was found guilty of firing a gun inside the mall. That guilty verdict has been set aside until a hearing to discuss it on October 19.

Colie, a DoorDash driver, was on trial for shooting Tanner Cook, the man behind the YouTube channel “Classified Goons,” at the Dulles Town Center back in April. Colie admitted to shooting Cook when he took the stand Wednesday but claimed it was self-defense.

The case went viral not because there was a shooting inside a mall, but because Cook is known to make prank videos. Cook amassed 55,000 subscribers with an average income of up to $3,000 per month. He said he elicits responses to entertain viewers and called his pranks “comedy content.”

Colie faced three charges, including aggravated malicious wounding, malicious discharge of a firearm within an occupied dwelling, and use of firearm for aggravated malicious wounding. The jury had to weigh different factors including if Colie had malicious intent and had reasonable fear of imminent danger of bodily harm.

Cook was in the courtroom when jurors were shown footage of him getting shot near the stomach – a video that has not yet been made public. Cook’s mother, however, left the courtroom to avoid watching the key piece of evidence in her son’s shooting.

The footage was recorded by one of Cook’s friends, who was helping to record a prank video for Cook’s channel. The video shows Cook holding his phone near Colie’s ear and using Google Translate to play a phrase out loud four times, while Colie backed away.

When he testified, Colie recalled how Cook and his friend approached him from behind and put the phone about 6 inches away from his face. He described feeling confused by the phrase Cook was playing. Colie told the jury the two looked “really cold and angry.” He also acknowledged carrying a gun during work as a way to protect himself after seeing reports of other delivery service drivers being robbed.

“Colie walked into the mall to do his job with no intention of interacting with Tanner Cook. None,” Adam Pouilliard, Colie’s defense attorney, said. "He’s sitting next to his defense attorneys right now. How’s that for a consequence?”

The Commonwealth argued that Cook was never armed, never placed hands on Colie and never posed a threat. They stressed that just because Cook may not seem like a saint or his occupation makes him appear undesirable, that a conviction is warranted.

“We don’t like our personal space invaded, but that does not justify the ability to shoot someone in a public space during an interaction that lasted for only 20 seconds,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eden Holmes said.

The jury began deliberating around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the jury came back saying they were divided and couldn’t come to a resolution. The judge instructed them to continue deliberating and later returned with the not-guilty verdict.

WUSA9 caught up with the Cook family following the verdict. When we asked Tanner Cook how he felt about the outcome, he said it is all up to God.

“I really don’t care, I mean it is what it is,” he said. “It’s God’s plan at the end of the day.”

His mother, Marla Elam, said the family respects the jury and that the Cook family is just thankful Tanner is alive.

“Nothing else matters right now,” she said.

Here’s the video by NBC Washington, apologies that it’s served by Discord

  • gregorum@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Your opinion is irrelevant. The facts are what matter in this case, whether you like it or not.

    • Touching_Grass@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The fact is a guy shot negligently at a kid for playing a speaker at him. Its like speaking to a 1900 Arab whose saying it’s justified to cut a criminals hands off because his legal system deemed it so. The country is beyond reasonable and as I said is fairly evil when it comes to valuing life. You’re using a broken measuring stick to measure

      • gregorum@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Except that’s not what happened. Your entire argument hinges on your persistent mischaracterization of events, yet you accuse me of using a “broken measuring stick”. Even you can’t meet your own silly standards, lol.

          • gregorum@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Manipulating the story to suit your narrative is hardly as honest as you claim it is. Your “version” of events is as irrelevant as how you feel. The facts of this case are all that matter, and you still can’t seem to get that right.

            • Touching_Grass@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Facts are facts. There was no threat to his life. Only in a violent country can you be not guilty for attempting to murder someone who looked menacing while playing audio on their phone. Those are facts

              • gregorum@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                The fact is that he was assaulted and was legally justified in his self-defense. Your opinion is irrelevant.

                • Touching_Grass@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Your opinion is irrelevant.

                  You’re hiding behind the word assaulted since just being assaulted doesn’t justify anything since clearly sounds is an assault. Should you shoot up a comedy club because the comedian assaults you with a joke. Words are violence now

                  • gregorum@lemm.ee
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                    1 year ago

                    The fact that a man was assaulted by the YouTuber, legally justifies the use of force, which was used in this instance, just because you don’t like that, doesn’t change the fact that it was legally justified. And no matter how much you twist words around or ignore the facts of the case, The facts, again, remain the facts in this case. A person was assaulted and defended themselves with a legally justified use of force.

                    Whether you like it or not.

    • Microw@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      But it’s true though: in a lot of countries the guy would be convicted and it would be classified as too much force for self defense.

      • gregorum@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        What might happen in other countries is irrelevant. It happened here and was a legally justified response to assault, no matter how much you don’t like it.

          • gregorum@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            That doesn’t matter. What might have happened in another country is irrelevant.

            Whether you like it or not.