Charges held against man accused of pointing gun at police in Waynesburg
A Franklin Township man who police said shouted obscenities before pointing a gun at officers in Waynesburg will stand trial on his charges.
Jerry Lee Cooke, 50, of 171 Champion Drive, was held for court Thursday by District Judge Glenn Bates on charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and two counts of driving under the influence.
Officers with the Greene County Drug Task Force and the state attorney general’s office were working a detail on South Alley in the borough at 9:20 p.m. June 25 when a truck approached the officers and the driver shouted an obscene remark, telling them to get out of the way.
Officers approached the vehicle, at which point Cooke allegedly showed a gun out of the window and pointed the laser sight at police.
A Greene County sheriff’s deputy pulled Cooke over not far away. Cooke was arrested, and police said they seized two loaded firearms from the truck. Waynesburg Borough police said a breath test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.18 percent, more than double the legal amount to operate a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania.
Cooke’s attorney, Paul Gettleman, did not present any witnesses but did make arguments that the assault, terroristic threat and reckless endangerment charges should be dismissed.
Gettleman said because the officers were in plain clothes, his client was unaware they were officers.
“My client never got out of his truck,” Gettleman said, adding that Cooke “didn’t even know he was a police officer. There’s no way he could have known he was a police officer.”
Gettleman added: “This could have been handled in so many different ways.”
Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox countered that although Cooke did not make a direct verbal threat at officers, “he chose to trace a laser from a loaded gun” on police, an action most would interpret as threatening. She also added that the officer presented his badge and verbally identified himself as police.
Cooke remains free on 10 percent of a $25,000 bond to await his formal arraignment at Greene County Common Pleas Court.