A Pleasantville man accused of brutally beating a woman and trying to sexually assault her was ordered held in jail last week.
Her injuries included temporary loss of sight in one eye, the assistant prosecutor told the judge.
"She wanted to be raped," Cooper was quoted as telling police after his arrest.
Neither information released about the arrest nor details given at Cooper's detention hearing included the exact location of stores or the names.
Absecon police received multiple calls last Monday, that the victim was locked inside a spa by a man who was actively assaulting her, Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth White said during Cooper's detention Friday.
The attack began when the man came into the market where the victim was working, took a juice out of the refrigeration area and started to drink it, White told the judge. The victim asked him to leave.
Instead, Cooper became aggressive, grabbing the victim by the face, the complaint states.
A man who entered the store tried to help, which allowed the victim to run from the store into the spa, White said. A worker inside the spa then fled.
Surveillance video from lobby of the spa shows Cooper force his way in, grab the victim by the head and throw her to the ground, breaking several items in the spa, White told the judge. Cooper is then seen hitting the woman in the head before turning around to lock the front door as the victim flees, with Cooper chasing her.
The woman could not get out a backdoor, which was locked, and wound up trapped in a massage room with Cooper, White said.
There is no video of that part of the attack, but the victim can be heard screaming, White said.
The woman estimated Cooper punched her at least 20 times in head and face, resulting in swelling and bruising, along with " which ultimately resulted in swelling and bruising "at least temporary loss of eyesight in one of her eyes."
At one point, Cooper put a massage table on top of the woman so she could not fight back, she told police.
Cooper got on top of the woman and began removing his clothes, and then tried taking off her shirt.
"He ripped her necklace clean off her neck," White said, along with tearing hair out of her head.
Police were able to break through the front door, a noise that caused Cooper to try to escape out the back door, White said.
When he could not escape, he was arresteed.
At that time, he was shirtless, with his belt unbuckled, his pants button and zipper undone, and his underwear exposed, White said.
Cooper has a criminal history that includes at least 15 indictable convictions between 2006 to 2020, with several prison sentences, records show.
None of those prior convictions were violent, defense attorney Yvonne Maher argued.
Cooper has living with his aunt on Main Street in Pleasantville his whole life, and attends Atlantic Cape Community College full-time, Maher said. He also cares for his eight children.
"Is there any type of way where justice can be served?" Cooper asked, after raising his hand several times to speak. "I don't feel justice is being served on my end."
He said that he had wanted to represent himself, but that he was fine with Maher's representation.
"This was a brutal, unprovoked attack on a victim by this defendant, and clearly shows that he poses a substantial danger to the community," White said, in arguing for Cooper to be held. "He chased a woman he didn't even know into a building, locked them inside and began to beat her in an attempt to incapacitate her so he could then rape her.
"The only reason that he was unable to actually complete the act is because police, thankfully, arrived in time to stop him," she added.
Judge Patricia Wild agreed, calling the case strong, including that made statements that admitted to all of it. Cooper could be seen nodding as she spoke.
Cooper continued to try to speak after the judge made her ruling, but his microphone was muted.
He will now remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
