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Samuel James Cooper
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Samuel James Cooper
Evidence
Verdict
The jury deliberated for about five hours before unanimously reaching the verdict. Cooper showed no emotion when the verdict was read.
A jury convicted Samuel James of five counts of first-degree murder in a series of shootings in which five men were killed over a 17-month period.
Linking fired projectiles and cartridge casings collected in all five cases to the 9 mm Ruger P89DC handgun that authorities say Cooper dropped while fleeing from police following a November 2007 bank robbery, the ballistics evidence, as well as Cooper's confession to all five shooting deaths, have been key evidence in the trial.
Defense
Ballistics
Ballistics evidence was the focus of the state's case against Samuel James Cooper, a Raleigh man on trial for shooting and killing five men in a span of more than a year.
Neil Morin, a forensic firearms specialist with the State Bureau of Investigation, testified that agents linked the bullets that killed Ossama Haj-Hussein at the In & Out Food Mart and the bullet that killed LeRoy Jernigan at the Circus Family Restaurant less than a month later.
Defense attorneys argued that Cooper suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorder as a result of years of abuse by his father, and at the time the shootings, he was absent of any emotions and in a delusional state.
The state argued that Cooper is not a victim but a "cold-blooded killer" who was deliberate in the crimes, knew that they were wrong and went to great lengths to hide evidence that could link him to them.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7307995/
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7368406/