 |
| Eric Eugene Cooper, 36, of Trinity County |
|
Self Induced Insulin Overdose...
Eric Cooper Delays Inevitable Punishment, LIVINGSTON, April 11, 2013 - "Deceptive and devious", those are the words Eric Eugene Cooper's ex wife used to describe him from the witness stand during a hearing to determine what the court should do about his sudden sickness on the morning that he was to face the music for his sexual molestation of a 14 year old girl. Rather than man up and take his punishment, like a child trying to get out of a spanking, he made himself sick. Cooper reportedly had nothing to eat the night before, refused breakfast (apparently ensuring that his blood sugar was nice and low), then gave himself a generous dose of insulin thus dropping his blood sugar to around 25. Cooper showed up for court and was groggy and nearly incoherrent. He was taken to a holding cell in the courthouse. He laid down on the bench in his holding cell and "went into a seizure". He was taken by ambulance to Livingston Memorial Hospital where he was treated. A District Attorney Investigator went to the hospital to check on Cooper's status. The nurses reported that he was closing his eyes and refusing to open them. They put salt solutions under his nose, but he was holding his breath (seriously, folks, I'm not making this up). By 2 pm, the court reconvened to determine what course of action to take. Several people who have had contact recently and/or regularly took the witness stand. One such person was Doctor Raymond Luna. Dr. Luna has been a practicing physician for over 30 years and one of his duties include being doctor to inmates at the Polk County Jail. According to Luna, for the past approximate 2 years that Eric Cooper has been in Polk County Jail, his use of insulin, his eating of meals, and other things that a diabetic is supposed to do has been spot on. Never a problem. Eric Cooper, for the past two years has been well behaved in his usage of insulin and his eating habits. Dr. Luna stated from the witness stand that the only way that Cooper's blood sugar could be that low would be through the use of insulin and that Cooper's sudden condition was self induced. Further, Polk County Jail Medical Assistant, Melinda Cole stated from the witness stand that during the two years that Cooper has been in Polk County Jail, he's never had a low blood sugar problem. When Investigator Glenn Goodwin took the witness stand (Goodwin is the investigator who went to the hospital to check on Cooper's status), Goodwin spoke to the nurses and got information from them that cooper was holding his breath and keeping his eyes closed when they tried to administer smelling salts to jolt him. By using a method of touching the sternum (chest bone), the nurses were able get Cooper to open his eyes, but then he quickly shut them tight. Judge Elizabeth Coker and the court reset the punishment phase for Friday (April 12) and the court adjourned for the day.
So there ya go. Rather than manning up and facing his punishment, Eric Cooper weasled out of it (for a day at least). His little stunt costs the county dollars to pay a staff, lawyers, jurors, and a judge. I've seen some bizarre things happen in my coverage of trials and punishment hearings, but this tops all. Of all the men that I've witnessed in court that have done low down dirty things, one thing I can say about them is, when it came time to face the music, they stood and took their medicine...but not Eric Cooper... but tommorrow is another day. Eric will have to face the music whether he likes it or not.
Willie P. Openshaw, Editor
|
