Two New Forest men convicted following trial for assault and criminal damage offences

Two New Forest men have been convicted of a number of offences after causing significant harm in the Bransgore area in recent months following a trial.

Brothers, Kristen Christopher Cooper, 24, of Whitelands in Bransgore and Todd James Edward Cooper, 28, of Jubilee Court in Sway appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Monday 21 August to face charges of assault, criminal damage and threats to cause injury during a five-day trial.

During the trial, the court heard how both Cooper brothers, and another man, chased a member of the public into a Co-Op store on Betsy Lane just before 5pm on Saturday 4 March.

The member of the public was pushed to the floor before having a catapult fire an item in his direction. No injuries were caused but the Cooper brothers, and their accomplice, fled the scene.

A short while later on the same day, at approximately 7.30pm, a further incident occurred outside the same Co-Op store on Betsy Lane.

A black SUV was seen by CCTV to ram into the back of a Vauxhall Astra – pushing the Astra into a parked car, before the occupants of the SUV vacated the vehicle and confronted those in the other vehicle.

Kristen and Todd Cooper were identified as being the men in the SUV, who caused damage to the Vauxhall Astra using a crowbar and a baseball bat. A catapult – utilising a ball bearing – was fired into the vehicle. The ball bearing was later seized by police when the vehicle was recovered for evidential purposes.

The jury returned a verdict on Friday 25 August at Southampton Crown Court and found both Kristen Cooper and Todd Cooper guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of making threats to cause injury with offensive weapons and one count of criminal damage.

They have both been remanded in custody; with the case being adjourned for sentencing at Southampton Crown Court on a currently undefined date.