A delivery driver who said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a YouTube prankster in a mall food court in April has been acquitted of the main charge against him.
A jury on Thursday found Alan Colie not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding in the shooting death of 21-year-old Tanner Cook, according to Virginia court records. Tanner Cook runs the YouTube channel Classified Goons.
However, the jury was split on the lesser firearms charge, finding the 31-year-old guilty of unlawful discharge of a firearm at a dwelling but not guilty of malicious discharge of a firearm.
The charges of intentional grievous bodily harm and discharging a firearm with intent require the jury to find that Corley acted intentionally.
The verdict came after the jury deliberated for five hours and sent notes for about three hours saying it was “divided on whether the defendant acted in self-defense,” The Associated Press reported.
In response to the impasse, a Loudoun County Circuit Court judge asked them to continue deliberations, which is standard procedure, news outlets reported. The jury then returned a verdict by the end of the day.
Jurors watched video of the shooting, which occurred near the Cheesecake Factory at Dulles Town Center Mall in Virginia.
At the time, Cook said Curley was just making a “simple joke” when he pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and shot him.
In the video, Cook can be seen holding the phone close to Kohli’s face and repeatedly playing the sentence from Google Translate. Corley said “stop” three times and tried to walk away from Cook, then pulled out his gun and immediately shot him, the Associated Press reported.
Cook’s father, Jerami Cook, told Insider in April that his son was hospitalized after the shooting, adding that his gallbladder was removed during surgery.
Prosecutor Eden Holmes argued that the facts did not support a claim of self-defense, the Associated Press reported.
The Associated Press stated that in order to successfully engage in self-defense, Corley should have reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of bodily harm and refrained from using excessive force. Holmes said that while the prank was bizarre, it did not involve threats of violence, the Associated Press reported.
But Corley’s defense attorney, Adam Pouilliard, said in closing arguments that his client was afraid of confronting the YouTuber, news outlets reported.
He also argued that the conviction on the gun charge was inconsistent with the law because Corley was acquitted of self-defense, and Pulyar asked the judge to overturn the conviction, the AP reported.
Court records show a judge will hear arguments on the issue next month.
