Alan Colie, a 31-year-old delivery driver from Virginia, was found not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding in the shooting of YouTube prankster Tanner Cook.
Dulles Town Center, located around forty-five minutes from Washington, DC, is home to a food court where the incident occurred earlier this year.
A report shows the “Classified Goons” YouTube channel is run by 21-year-old Tanner Cook. He tracked Colie around the mall’s food court to provoke him for views on his channel.
In the minutes before the assault, Colie was heard saying “stop” three times before he was seen moving away from Cook and trying to take the phone away from Cook’s face.
Colie pulled his gun and shot Cook 20 seconds later.
During Colie’s preliminary hearing, Cook said he was in shock and didn’t initially feel anything.
The report shows Colie, who deputies spotted in a food court, reportedly surrendered to them without incident. Aggravated malicious wounding, firing a firearm within a structure, and criminal use of a weapon were the counts against him.
The jury was split on two minor gun charges but ultimately opted to convict him on one charge and acquit on the other.
Adam Pouilliard, who represented Colie in court, said his client had acted in self-defense. He said that Cook’s activities were aimed to elicit a response and drive visitors to Cook’s YouTube channel and that Colie felt threatened by them.
However, the prosecution contended that Cook’s prank was odd but not dangerous, so the circumstances weren’t sufficient to support a self-defense claim.
According to an interview, Cook said he was pranking and joking, but the man didn’t take it very well. Cook has since released three more videos and said he had no plans to stop. Cook claims to make up to $3,000 every month.
At the initial court hearing, sheriff’s officers stated they were fully aware of Cook and had received complaints about him in the past.
Colie has been detained since his arrest in April. The contradiction between Colie’s acquittal on self-defense and his conviction on the gun offense will be heard next month.
