Credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm / Unsplash.com
Quadri Cooper, 20, of Atlantic City, was found guilty Monday morning after a jury convicted him of eleven crimes, according to a press release from the Atlantic County, N.J. Prosecutor’s Office on April 21.
Cooper was found guilty of multiple felonies, including third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance (crack cocaine), second degree unlawful possession of a handgun while committing drug crimes, fourth-degree unlawful possession of a defaced handgun, and additional first-degree and second-degree crimes relating to employing a juvenile to engage in drug distribution crimes, said William E. Reynolds, the county’s prosecutor via the release.
According to police, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2022, Sgt. Timothy Smith of the Atlantic City Police Department was patrolling the 1500 block of Atlantic Avenue when he saw a group of men huddled together in the aisle of a convenience store.
“Because the men did not appear to be shopping, Sgt. Smith stopped to check on the store’s clerk,” said Reynolds. “After entering the store, Sergeant Smith saw Cooper and a 15-year-old juvenile selling crack cocaine together.”
Police said the incident did not end there.
“Upon seeing Sergeant Smith, the defendant fled to the rear of the store where he hid a fully loaded 9mm Taurus brand handgun on a shelf,” the prosecutor said in the release. “Additionally, the defendant had approximately 6.5 grams of crack cocaine on his person.”
An investigation subsequently revealed, according to the State Police ballistics laboratory, that all three serial numbers on the handgun had also been removed, and the handgun was determined to be “fully operable and capable of firing.”
This case was investigated by the Atlantic City Police Department, with assistance from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Chris D’Esposito of the Gangs, Guns, and Narcotics Unit of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. Cooper remains incarcerated in the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending his sentencing, which is scheduled to occur on June 10, 2025.
