LEESBURG, Va. — After two days of testimony, the man who shot a 21-year-old YouTuber inside Dulles Town Center on video in April has been found not guilty on two charges of malicious wounding.
The jury found Alan Colie not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding or use of a firearm for aggravated malicious wounding, however, he was found guilty of firing a gun inside the mall. That guilty verdict has been set aside until a hearing to discuss it on October 19.
Colie, a DoorDash driver, was on trial for shooting Tanner Cook, the man behind the YouTube channel "Classified Goons," at the Dulles Town Center back in April. Colie admitted to shooting Cook when he took the stand Wednesday but claimed it was self-defense.
The case went viral not because there was a shooting inside a mall, but because Cook is known to make prank videos. Cook amassed 55,000 subscribers with an average income of up to $3,000 per month. He said he elicits responses to entertain viewers and called his pranks “comedy content.”
Colie faced three charges, including aggravated malicious wounding, malicious discharge of a firearm within an occupied dwelling, and use of firearm for aggravated malicious wounding. The jury had to weigh different factors including if Colie had malicious intent and had reasonable fear of imminent danger of bodily harm.
Cook was in the courtroom when jurors were shown footage of him getting shot near the stomach -- a video that has not yet been made public. Cook's mother, however, left the courtroom to avoid watching the key piece of evidence in her son's shooting.
The footage was recorded by one of Cook's friends, who was helping to record a prank video for Cook's channel. The video shows Cook holding his phone near Colie’s ear and using Google Translate to play a phrase out loud four times, while Colie backed away.
When he testified, Colie recalled how Cook and his friend approached him from behind and put the phone about 6 inches away from his face. He described feeling confused by the phrase Cook was playing. Colie told the jury the two looked “really cold and angry.” He also acknowledged carrying a gun during work as a way to protect himself after seeing reports of other delivery service drivers being robbed.
"Colie walked into the mall to do his job with no intention of interacting with Tanner Cook. None," Adam Pouilliard, Colie's defense attorney, said. "He’s sitting next to his defense attorneys right now. How’s that for a consequence?”
The Commonwealth argued that Cook was never armed, never placed hands on Colie and never posed a threat. They stressed that just because Cook may not seem like a saint or his occupation makes him appear undesirable, that a conviction is warranted.
"We don’t like our personal space invaded, but that does not justify the ability to shoot someone in a public space during an interaction that lasted for only 20 seconds," Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eden Holmes said.
The jury began deliberating around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the jury came back saying they were divided and couldn’t come to a resolution. The judge instructed them to continue deliberating and later returned with the not-guilty verdict.
WUSA9 caught up with the Cook family following the verdict. When we asked Tanner Cook how he felt about the outcome, he said it is all up to God.
"I really don't care, I mean it is what it is," he said. "It's God's plan at the end of the day."
His mother, Marla Elam, said the family respects the jury and that the Cook family is just thankful Tanner is alive.
"Nothing else matters right now," she said.
Here's the video by NBC Washington, apologies that it's served by Discord
I'm glad he got off on the first two charges, but his lawyer argues that the third charge, "shooting in an occupied dwelling" shouldn't be applicable since it was deemed self defence. The judge will be hearing arguments for this next month.^[https://newsio.com/2023/09/29/alan-colie-man-who-shot-youtube-prankster-at-virginia-shopping-centre-acquitted/]
Also, dude's now spent 6 months in jail, only to be found not guilty of at least 2/3rds of the charges. Is there any compensation he'll get for those missing months of his life? He's already been punished, and yet he's still presumed innocent.
It is certainly a weird conclusion. You CAN defend yourself. You CAN defend yourself with a gun. You CANNOT defend yourself with a gun indoors?
No no. You can defend yourself with a gun indoors. You just can't shoot it. Perhaps a pistol whipping?
More that the nature of the indoors location had an increased likelihood of hitting a innocent bystander.
Maybe you're more justified in somebody if it's a 2-on-1 situation and you feel like your life is threatened, but pull out a gun and start blasting and you also put the lives of anyone within a certain distance around your target in danger.
Given the lack of apparent weapons on the "assailants", drawing on them might have been sufficient to disengage and assess without actually needing to fire the weapon at all
Doesn’t that infringe everyone’s right in the building not to get shot while shopping?
Only the ones that aren't threatening someone else.
Was it only the idiot YouTuber and the guy defending themselves or were there other people in danger?
It's ok, the prankster blocked it with his stomach and saved everyone. He's a hero.
Sounds to me like two idiots out other people in danger.
One idiot put one idiot in danger - don't victim blame.
So shooting in a mall is safe for everyone else?
Why would a single round fired into an assailant be unsafe for anyone other than that assailant?
Do you believe bullets travel on some trajectory not subject to the rules of physics, curving around randomly?
Give him some slack. He doesn't like it, and so he feels unsafe, and would rather not have to think about danger at all.
Now that we're human, we've evolved beyond such things as danger, personal responsibility, right to self defense, etc.
/s, in case that isn't clear to anyone.
The country I live in would throw the shooter’s ass in jail for that shit.
YouTuber was no saint, but shooting someone for getting in your face is a sign you’re weak as hell.
You're taking, but all I hear is Satan's Maggoty Cum Fart.
It's always a great look when you have to resort to an ad hominem.
You mean, your actual username?
It’s okay if you have nothing else to add to this conversation.
pat pat
I guess we’ll see what the court says next month!
To be clear, the court has already said he was perfectly justified from the self-defense perspective. I look forward to it clearing him of the "firing indoors" nonsense.
The charge he was found guilty of by the jury?
The same charge pending judge review due to its inconsistency with having acted in self-defense?
So they didn’t find him guilty of that charge?
As we've covered, the same charge I look forward to the court clearing him of next month. If you're still having trouble with the concept beyond this, I'm going to leave it to you to figure out.
It sounds like we both are saying that he was found guilty but both are looking forward to what the court says, I’m not sure why you’re being disagreeable.
That's why in most places only hollow point bullets are legal for self defence. They are designed to mushroom out and break up when they hit something. This makes them ideal self defence rounds for 2 reasons. They have a ton more stopping power against an unarmored tarket (odds are your mugger isn't wearing kevlar). Aditionally they usually don't really survive going through walls. Even just sheet rock walls are usually enough to completely kill the momentum of any fragments that might make it though. If you use FMJ rounds for self defence then you're going to catch a completely different charge.
He'd probably need to file a suit against the state or the YouTuber.
If he's only cleared on 2/3 charges in the end, they'll just slap a minimum of 6 months on him and call it time served.
He probably doesn't have a leg to stand on suing the YouTuber if only cleared on 2/3 charges.
If he is cleared of all charges, he can sue the pants of both.
But lawsuits are expensive.
And I'm sure he's already spent a ton on a lawyer.
If he is cleared of al charges, there will definitely be lawyers interested in his lawsuit esp for the publicity.
Those types of cases are usually taken on contingency, so money isn't a huge factor.
No, not for criminal defense
Considering what's being discussed is a civil lawsuit...
Oh i see
I was speaking to getting a lawyer to sue the city and YouTuber, not the criminal trial.
Quick correction, he was found guilty of discharging a firearm in a building, the other charge “use of firearm for aggravated malicious wounding” was one of the two the jury found him not guilty on.
Edited ty
21 year old teenager?
Just because a 21 year old YouTube prankster has the mental and emotional capacity of a teenager, does not make them a teenager. They should know better.
If some random idiot wants to try and fuck with me and I don't know them and I TEL THEM TO STOP and they persist. They get whatever I give them. If I have my kids they get no warning. I don't fucking play and I don't care about them. My safety and that of my kids is first. Do NOT FUCK WITH STRANGERS. PERIOD.
No man. Just doing fucking mess with people. End of the story. You want to act like a loon go for it. Those actions have consequences. I'm under no obligation to make sure you aren't hurt for acting a fool neither is anyone else in this world. Stop acting like a cunt because people don't want to or will not put up with being harassed. My first instinct isn't to harm someone and least of all kill them. However I won't fuck around if my safety or children's safety is potentially at risk.