photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Cameron Jay Cooper leaves Judge Sally Pokorny's courtroom Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, after his sentencing hearing.

A man who shot another man in the leg during a botched drug deal last year was granted probation Friday in Douglas County District Court after a judge suspended his 32-month prison sentence.

Cameron Jay Cooper, who was 18 at the time, was accused of shooting a 26-year-old Iowa man twice in the leg on Nov. 11, 2024, at the Easy Living mobile home park in Lawrence. He was subsequently found guilty of reckless aggravated battery under a plea deal with the state.

The victim, Keith Allison, testified under immunity in April that the shooting occurred as Allison was attempting to sell marijuana at the mobile home park and was accosted by two masked individuals, one of them reportedly Cooper. At one point, Cooper had also faced a charge of aggravated robbery in the case.

According to an affidavit in support of Cooper’s arrest, Cooper told police that he had shot Allison in self-defense after Allison and two other people got out of a Jeep and behaved in a threatening manner.

At the time of the shooting, Allison was on probation after being convicted in 2023 of one felony count of aggravated robbery, one felony count of burglary and one misdemeanor count of domestic battery. He has since been convicted of three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment.

On Friday, Senior Assistant District Attorney Eve Kemple told the court that the case was “a little unusual” in that Allison was “very adamant” that he wanted Cooper to be held responsible but not to be imprisoned.

Cooper, who has no prior criminal history, will serve three years on supervised probation, with an underlying prison sentence of 32 months if he violates the terms of his probation, which include that he remain clean and sober and have no contact with any of the people involved in the 2024 incident.

Judge Sally Pokorny also ordered him to pay around $3,000 in various court costs, including a good portion of the appointed-attorney fees.

Cooper’s defense attorney, Razmi Tahirkheli, told the court that his client was “making a decent living, working hard and staying out of trouble.”

When Pokorny asked Cooper if he wanted to say anything about the probation recommendation that the parties had agreed to, Cooper initially said “no,” but with some prodding by Pokorny, made a statement about how he had turned his life around since the incident and had found a job he loves.

“I’m going to try really hard to better myself,” he said.

Pokorny, noting that the incident arose from “drug-fueled activity,” said that good treatment options in the area would benefit Cooper and the community more than a prison term would.

As part of his felony conviction, Cooper will be banned from possessing a gun.