Bullets tore through the window of Chicken Hot & Pizza and a second-story apartment above Malak’s Market, and a bullet went into the side door of a Buick in Marcus Hook, and police say a 32-year-old Garnet Valley man is now facing 10 counts of reckless endangerment for allegedly firing the shots. No one was apparently injured, despite multiple people being directly near each of the three locations struck by the gunfire.
According to Delco Times, Marcus Hook police charged Brandon J. Cooney, of the 3200 block of Griggs Drive, with 10 counts of reckless endangerment along with additional firearm-related and other charges. Police units were called to Malak’s Market at 30 E. 10th St. for a report of shots fired, and witnesses told investigators a man fired about five shots while standing along a nearby alley, targeting businesses and apartments in the area.
Officers arriving on scene found six shell casings and ultimately established multiple crime scenes across the three locations hit by gunfire, the report notes. Two witnesses described the shooter, per the criminal complaint, as a white male in black clothing walking a dog, with one witness adding more detail: tall, medium build, in his 20s, walking a leashed dog, and firing roughly five shots from the alley.
A 911 Call and a Pedestrian Stop
A 911 caller separately reported a suspicious male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt running along Ross Lane with a German shepherd, according to the same account. Marcus Hook Patrolman Steven Jackson, who filed the criminal complaint in the case, later spotted a male in a black shirt and shorts walking a husky at 10th and Market streets and conducted a pedestrian stop, telling investigators the man — identified as Cooney — matched the description of someone involved in the shooting.
What followed was a physical struggle, per the report. Cooney allegedly resisted an attempted weapons pat-down, prompting Jackson to use a pressure point in an effort to gain compliance. When Cooney continued resisting, Jackson took him down with a leg sweep; during the struggle, Cooney reportedly reached for the officer’s Taser, and Jackson struck him after grabbing his arm. Additional officers then arrived and took Cooney into custody.
Gun and Drugs Allegedly Found
Police say Cooney was carrying a Kel-Tec 9 mm semi-automatic pistol at the time of his arrest, along with a bag of white crystal that field-tested as containing methamphetamine, the Delco Times reports. Cooney faces charges that include discharging a firearm, propulsion of missiles onto roadways, carrying a firearm without a permit, possession of firearm prohibited, and attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer, among related counts.
Pennsylvania law treats carrying a firearm without a valid license as a serious offense; under the statute maintained by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, that charge can rise to a third-degree felony, subject to certain exceptions, though it allows a lesser first-degree misdemeanor for an otherwise eligible person with no other criminal violations. The statute also allows a lesser first-degree misdemeanor for an otherwise eligible person with no other criminal violations.
Bail Set, Hearing Scheduled
District Judge Diane M. Holefelder set Cooney’s bail at 10 percent of $500,000, which he has been unable to post, the outlet reports. He was taken to Delaware County prison, where he remains while awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 18 in front of District Judge Shepard Garner.
