A Rochester man faces six felony charges, including five counts of violating a no-contact order and one count of felony stalking, after he allegedly sent hundreds of text messages to a woman he was legally prohibited from speaking with.
According to court documents, Cooper A. Minkler, 20, was served the original no-contact order on Aug. 9, 2024.
Morton police first learned of the new violations on Sept. 26 when the victim’s mother reported it to Chief Cole Cournyer. Another officer soon assumed primary responsibility of the investigation and spoke with the mother, who said that Minkler had started texting her daughter “shortly after his release from jail in July,” according to court documents.
The mother added that her daughter had “tried to ignore the texts at first, but they became more intense.” The mother reportedly provided the officer with copies of “dozens of texts” from Minkler that showed her daughter not responding.
According to court documents, when the officer spoke with the daughter, the daughter “said she did not want to report the messages at first, but Minkler texted her hundreds of times on various platforms, and she became fearful he would act out on some of the things he was saying in the messages like he had before.”
Minkler was convicted of third-degree assault, domestic violence, in August 2024 after initial allegations that he strangled the same victim. He was sentenced to nine days in jail and one year of community custody.
In July of this year, Minkler was convicted of second-degree malicious mischief and two counts of violating a protection order after he admitted to damaging the physical property of the same victim’s mother while also being too close to the victim.
Minkler was sentenced to two months in jail with 45 days of credit for time served.
According to court documents, after his release from jail, Minkler began texting the victim through his gaming console, and then from an “emergency phone” that his mother gave him before she left for a trip on Sept. 25. The number of the phone allegedly matched several text messages that were sent to the victim.
Minkler was arrested Oct. 12 and made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court Oct. 13 to determine his conditions of release.
Judge Paul Strophy set Minkler’s bail at $100,000, citing concern for community safety and the safety of the alleged victim in this case. Strophy noted the previous no-contact order violations, and called the recent accusations “red flags” for lethality factors.
An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 16. Jacob Clark has been assigned to represent Minkler.
