Teen pleads guilty to shooting 2 Minn. clerks

A teenager has pleaded guilty to charges that he shot two Lincoln Park convenience store clerks multiple times in the back three years ago.

Steven Albert Cooper, 18, entered the plea Thursday to two counts of attempted first-degree murder. In exchange St. Louis County prosecutors agreed to dismiss two charges and recommend a single 20-year prison sentence instead of two.

Prosecutors say Cooper had just turned 15 when he allegedly shot and wounded Christopher Davis and Daniel Warner while robbing a convenience store in 2006.

Each victim was shot three times and both suffered a collapsed lung. Each man also has a bullet permanently lodged near his spine.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Cooper had been scheduled to stand trial next month. His sentencing hearing is set for May 18.

---

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)