MINOT – A trial for which 10 days have been reserved in a North-Central District courtroom commenced with the jury selection process Monday. Donald Lee Cooper is facing four felony charges, including the AA charge of Accomplice to Murder-Extreme Indifference.
Cooper is also charged with Attempted Murder, a class A felony; Reckless Endangerment-Extreme Indifference, a class C felony; and Terrorizing-With a Dangerous Weapon, a class C felony. Class AA felonies are punishable by up to life in prison without parole.
The Cooper case had its beginnings in January 2020, following a harrowing car chase through northwest Minot in which an unknown number of shots were fired, eventually resulting in a crash in front of the Minot State University dome in which the driver of the vehicle died from gunshot wounds.
Following the incident Cooper left the area. He was later apprehended in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and returned to Minot where he has been held in the Ward County Jail. Judge Gary Lee is presiding over the trial.
