Man who wielded machete during assault faces prison term.

Cooper

Man who wielded machete during assault faces prison term.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 46-year-old Indiana man who wielded a machete during an assault and then led local police on a six-hour manhunt after fleeing from the crime scene pleaded guilty in 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, Dec. 7, to assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence.

Bret Rowe Cooper faces a prison term of 22 months to eight years in exchange for his plea. A charge of breaking and entering without owner’s permission is being dismissed, and his fourth-offense habitual offender designation will be reduced to third-offense.

The convictions stem from a Sept. 5, 2021 incident in the Home Depot parking lot in Amber Township when Cooper assaulted a male victim with a machete and knife, said Mason County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Beth Hand. Cooper’s girlfriend was the victim in the domestic violence offense, said Hand. After Cooper assaulted his girlfriend, a citizen came to her aid. Cooper pulled a knife and a machete, threatening the Good Samaritan. 

As Mason County sheriff’s deputies arrived, he ran from the parking lot. Because Cooper was armed with the machete, deputies set up a perimeter and called in the county’s emergency response team, K-9 units, fire departments and neighboring law enforcement. He was located shortly after 11 p.m. and taken into custody without incident.

His habitual offender designation increases the four-year maximum to eight years, said Judge Susan K. Sniegowski.

He was sentenced Aug. 18, 2020 to two years and four months in an Indiana prison for a conviction of criminal confinement, according to Indiana Department of Corrections records. However, he was released June 15, 2021 after serving less than a year. Cooper also has convictions in Indiana of methamphetamine possession and obstructing justice, said Judge Sniegowski.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan 25 at 1 p.m. He is lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website. 

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.