BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD — A straightforward traffic stop spiraled into shouted threats, footraces and a daring escape from a police cruiser June 11 at Warfield Park.

Deputy Steven Putman of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office first stopped Gabriel Cooper, 31, of Thelma. The deputy was sitting at Warfield City Hall when Cooper cruised past despite a DUI-related driver’s license suspension. Putman, aware of the suspension, pulled Cooper over at Warfield Park and logged the arrest with textbook efficiency.

Enter David Cooper, 26, of Warfield. According to police, David drove by and then returned after a quick seat swap with his passenger Krystal Cooper, 34, of Warfield.

“You had no reason to pull my brother over,” David shouted when he pulled in, according to Putman. At the same time, he insisted he had not been driving.

When the deputy closed in to detain him, David bolted toward Dempsey Housing, tripped three times, then doubled back to trade punches. Putman grounded him, cuffed him and noted David’s parting promise that he would kill the deputy.

As that played out Krystal Cooper made a bid for detainment. Deputy J.C. Kirk arrived on the scene to back up Putman and found Krystal causing a public alarm, the report states. She was allegedly waving her hands, behaving aggressively and screaming profanities.

Police said Krystal kept reaching into one of the male’s pockets. When Deputy Putman yanked her hand away to ensure no weapon lay inside, she rewarded him with an open-handed smack to the head. That strike elevated her rap sheet and was just the start of her charges.

Cuffed and stowed in the cruiser, Krystal slipped off the handcuffs, rolled down a window, popped open the door and stepped out before deputies regained control.

By night’s end the arrest charges looked like this:

• Gabriel Cooper — driving on a DUI-suspended license
• David Cooper — no operator’s or moped license, disorderly conduct and fleeing or evading police in a motor vehicle
• Krystal Cooper — second-degree assault of a police officer, second-degree disorderly conduct and third-degree escape

All three rode to Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.