A Pasadena man was charged Tuesday with fatally shooting the brother of former Los Angeles Laker Michael Cooper at Washington Park in Pasadena over the weekend.
#BREAKING Pasadena police announce arrest in killing of Mickey Cooper, the younger brother of Lakers legend Michael Cooper https://t.co/vC67HevRKp
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 21, 2023
In addition to murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged 24-year-old Aaron Miguel Conell with attempted murder and assault with an automatic firearm, said Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office.
If convicted of all counts, she said Conell faces a sentence of 50 years to life in prison. Conell was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at Pasadena Superior Court but it was continued to Wednesday, a court official said.
The victim, 64-year-old Mickey Cooper, died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the medical examiner’s office.
“I can’t understand why this young man took his life. He had nothing,” Michael Cooper said. “That is the big question. ‘Why? Why kill him?’”
His brother wasn’t bothering anyone and was not confrontational, the former Laker added.
Authorities have not released details about the attempter murder or the second victim.
Pasadena police have not revealed a motive in the Saturday shooting but plan to hold a news conference about it on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
Officers checking a ShotSpotter alert about gunshots at the park at 700 East Washington Blvd. shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday found a wounded Mickey Cooper. He died at the scene.
Since 2022, Pasadena has been using ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that was placed in a 3-square mile area in the northwest part of the city.
Police also did not say how they identified Conell as a person of interest in the shooting. He was arrested Saturday night and booked on an unrelated assault with a firearm charge. Detectives over the weekend obtained further evidence on the…
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