Former Sikeston officer found guilty on 2 felony counts in deadly crash

SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - A Butler County jury reached a split verdict on Friday, June 9 after more than three years after a deadly crash involving a Sikeston police officer.

They found Andrew Cooper guilty on two of the six felony counts he faced, involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, in connection with the death of 22-year-old Abagail Cohen.

They found him not guilty on four DUI-related counts in that same crash.

Cohen was killed in the two-vehicle crash on February 29, 2020.

State investigators say Cooper was behind the wheel when his vehicle went through a stop sign and hit a second vehicle head-on. Cohen was a passenger in that second car.

We talked with Abagail’s mother, Jama Ferguson, on Friday. She said she has mixed feelings about the two guilty and four not guilty verdicts in her daughter’s case.

“Well, not really happy that we didn’t get the DWI charges, but more importantly we got the manslaughter and the armed criminal action [charges],” she said. “So, I’m happy with that. The armed criminal action [charge] means he will do prison time, so it’s better than nothing.”

Ferguson told us she plans to speak at Cooper’s sentencing, which is set for August 1.

A jury in Poplar Bluff heard the case against Cooper on a change of venue, and a member of the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services prosecuted the case.

Jurors came back with that verdict roughly 4.5 hours after getting the case.

Cooper faces up to 25 years in prison based on those two felony convictions.

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