Charges dropped against Meridian Fire Chief

The Sutter County District Attorney’s Office dismissed a criminal charge against Meridian Fire Chief Jason Cooper Wednesday.

Cooper, 43, was charged in Sutter County Superior Court in February with felony threats to commit a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury in connection to an ongoing dispute with a neighbor. He was arrested in December after he allegedly threatened to shoot a neighbor and puppies he had on his property, and threatened to burn his house down, according to Appeal-democrat archives.

Deputy District Attorney Cameron King said Thursday that in cases such as this where there’s no physical evidence, audio or video recordings of the incident and few if any uninvolved witnesses, it can be difficult to meet the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“In this case, after reviewing additional information provided by Cooper’s defense attorney, I concluded that it is more likely than not that Cooper committed the charged offense, but I didn’t believe it could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” King wrote in an email Thursday. “Therefore, I was ethically obligated to dismiss the charge.”

Cooper had told deputies he noticed seven to nine puppies outside the alleged victim’s home that didn’t appear to have been cared for. He called Animal Care Services, who said they couldn’t respond because it was after hours, but told Cooper he could collect the puppies and take them to the shelter, according to the sheriff’s office. As he went to collect the puppies, the victim came outside and a verbal altercation began, police said.

Cooper was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery for an alleged incident two days prior: While driving his fire department truck, Cooper allegedly pulled up alongside the same neighbor, who was riding his bicycle on Meridian Road, and began to yell and spit at him, according to Appeal-democrat archives. A deputy provided the victim with a citizen’s arrest form because the deputy had not been there to witness the altercation. Cooper told deputies the man had several paint and gas cans outside his home and went over to investigate the suspected safety issue when the incident began. Charges were not filed in that incident. Cooper also allegedly told deputies he and the man had several run-ins before.

Cooper declined Thursday. to comment