A Wisconsin man is set to stand trial next year after being accused of reckless endangerment when he reportedly tried to defend himself, a family member, and his neighbors during a drive-by shooting.
Jared Cooks, 27, was charged after police investigated that shooting, which took place on 61st Street in Kenosha on May 27, 2020.
The Kenosha County Eye reports that on that evening, Cooks was sitting on the porch of his cousin’s home with his cousin. Some young children next door were also relaxing and talking outside.
Suddenly, two cars speeding up the street approached Cooks’ cousin’s home, and people from both vehicles began opening fire at the home and the house next door.
Cooks and his cousin returned fire with guns they legally possessed. Cooks and his cousin told police they shot back at the cars but were so startled they weren’t sure exactly where their bullets landed.
No one was hurt from the shooting, but Cooks’ cousin’s home, its porch, and a car in the driveway were riddled with bullet holes and shell casings.
The police investigation revealed there were indeed at least two shooters from the cars that pulled up to Cooks’ cousin’s home. However, police reportedly ended up shifting their attention from the drive-by shooting to the home where they discovered numerous adults and children who occupied the home.
They arrested most of those individuals and shuttled them to the police station. Cooks was also arrested.
While he only returned fire, prosecutors decided to charge him with first-degree reckless endangering safety with a “dangerous weapon” enhancer tacked on. Even though Cooks’ cousin also fired back, he was released with no charges.
Witnesses at the scene attested that the house where Cooks and his cousin were wasn’t the intended target for the shooting. Reportedly, none of the drive-by shooters have been arrested or charged at this time.
If Cooks is convicted, he could face up to 20 years behind bars.
“I avoided trouble my whole life. I am a good person,” Cooks told the Kenosha County Eye. “Why use me to prove a point that you don’t like citizens having guns for protection? It’s our right under Wisconsin Law and under the constitution.”
The Kenosha County Eye dubbed Cooks the “Black Kyle Rittenhouse” after noticing what it claimed were similarities between Cooks’ and the real Rittenhouse’s cases.
Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges after fatally shooting two men and injuring another during police brutality protests that broke out in Kenosha in 2020. Rittenhouse’s legal team played up a self-defense argument to downplay the charges he faced, which included first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
In Cooks’ case, he was armed and acting in self-defense. Additionally, according to the KCE news report, the shooting took place in the only county in Wisconsin that prosecutes obvious self-defense. Rittenhouse shot all three men in that same county just three months after the shooting Cooks was involved in.
Cooks’ trial has been delayed several times but is slated to begin in April.
