Sunriver man sentenced to nearly 7 years for firing rifle shot into front of Deschutes County Jail, wild chase afterward

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 26-year-old Sunriver man who fired a rifle shot across U.S. Highway 20 that hit the front of the Deschutes County Jail in early March, hours after his father was arrested and jailed, received a nearly 7-year jail sentence on Monday.

Katherine Griffith, the attorney for Nicholas Ryan Cooper, disputed prosecutors’ claims that he fired the shot so he could then lay in wait and shoot and kill arriving police officers – none of whom showed, leaving him frustrated and headed home in what became a wild, wrong-way chase on Highway 97 that ended with spike strips and a pursuit-immobilization maneuver.

Instead, she said, believing in “his most panicked state” after his father’s arrest on a charge of luring a minor that “his life was completely over,” Cooper thought he only had three potential outcomes: to be arrested, get himself into a crash that he would not survive, or be shot by police.

“The only harm Mr. Cooper intended this evening was harm to himself, and not anybody else,” Griffith said, having explained earlier that he has had "high-level problem-solving skills all his life."

The attorney noted that the part of the jail struck by the bullet was unoccupied at that hour – and that in fact, jail officials didn’t hear it or even realize a shot had hit the building until the next day.

Circuit Judge Raymond Crutchley asked Cooper if he realized “how dangerously foolish that plan actually is – that there is, in fact, other options available to you, and not be destructive to you and your life?”

“Yes, your honor,” he replied on video from jail. “I think about it every day.”

Crutchley responded, “I’m asking you not to only think about it, but come to the realization that there is a different alternative that may be available to you, other than jail or ending your life and causing harm to others. Do you understand?”

“Yes, your honor,” replied Cooper.

Cooper signed a plea petition earlier this month, agreeing to plead guilty to six of the 20 felony and misdemeanor charges filed against him. Crutchley accepted that plea agreement's terms on Monday and imposed a 70-month sentence.

Griffith had said of her client, “He did a bad thing, but Mr. Cooper is not a bad kid. He has done a ton of self-reflection.”

When asked his age, Cooper told the judge he turned 26 this month.

“In my mind, you’re an adult, and responsible for making adult decisions,” Crutchley said. “Whether or not you’re a bad person, I’m not here to make that determination today. … You are what you do.”

After laying out details of the sentence, the judge said he hopes he uses his time in prison “to reflect on your life and improve your life … I wish you the very best.”

“Thank you, your honor,” Cooper replied.