Franklin Twp. man allegedly points gun at officers, arrested on assault charge
Warning: getimagesize(https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/washington.ogdennews.com/images/sites/3/2018/06/01224212/8557f1d49f6eefc0ef1ea9b41ac1c4fe-1200x786.jpg): failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 139
Warning: Division by zero in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 142
WAYNESBURG – A Franklin Township man who allegedly shouted obscenities at police Monday night before pointing a gun at officers was arrested and later registered more than twice the legal limit on a blood-alcohol test, police said.
Jerry Lee Cooke, 49, of 171 Champion Drive, faces charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and two counts of DUI.
Officers with Greene County Drug Task Force and the state attorney general’s office were working a detail on South Alley, behind the Sunoco station, at 9:20 p.m. Monday when a truck approached the officers and the driver shouted an obscene remark, telling them to get out of the road.
Two officers approached the vehicle, at which point Cooke allegedly brandished a gun out of the window and pointed the laser sight at police.
One officer saw “the laser on his leg as it traveled to the area of his chest,” according to the criminal complaint. Both officers again identified themselves as members of law enforcement, at which point Cooke reportedly drove away.
A Greene County sheriff’s deputy pulled Cooke over not far away, on South Alley behind Avalon Court. Cooke was arrested, and police said they seized two loaded firearms from the truck.
Court documents state Cooke smelled like alcohol, his eyes were red and glassy and he had urinated on himself. He was taken to the Waynesburg police station, and a Breathalyzer test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.180 percent, police said.
Cooke was freed on 10 percent of a $25,000 bond and is expected back in court for his preliminary hearing before District Judge Glenn Bates at 2 p.m. July 9.