A Pasadena man was charged in connection with the killing of Mickey Cooper, brother of former Laker Michael Cooper.

The suspect, identified as Aaron Miguel Conell, 24, was charged with three counts of murder, two separate from Cooper’s, as well as separate incidents of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

“The reason my brother was there was because it was a safe haven for him,” Michael Cooper said of his brother. “A place that he felt comfortable and safe and had been up until that tragic night that just happened. Yes, we’re going to miss Mickey, but I’d like to feel that he is in a better place.”

Before the Nov. 18 incident involving Cooper at Washington Park, Conell was believed to have shot a man in the neck on Oct. 29, also in Washington Park. He is also being accused of pointing a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at a man who was inside his car at a gas station on Nov. 5.

The Pasadena Police Dept. investigated the shooting and presented their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Conell was initially arrested on the charges of assault with a deadly weapon, with investigators later gathering enough evidence to connect him with Cooper’s shooting.

Pasadena Police Lt. Keith Gomez said there were two additional crimes that they believe can be connected to Conell and are currently being investigated. Additional charges may incur for those crimes.

Investigators do not believe that Cooper had any affiliation, or a prior connection to Connell.

“What we know is there’s no definitive motive for the murder of Mickey Cooper, or the shooting that occurred a couple of weeks prior,” Lt. Gomez said in a Nov. 22 press conference. “All we can tell is that Aaron  Conell is diabolically evil. That seems to be the only motive we’ve come up with so far.”

Conell is being held on $4.2 million bail and faces up to 50 years in prison for the current charges against him.

Michael Cooper played with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1978-1990, winning five NBA Finals championships as the team’s defensive stalwart.

He grew up in Pasadena, attending Pasadena High School and Pasadena City College before transferring to the University of New Mexico. Cooper also won back-to-back championships as the head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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