Haltom City woman gets 30 years for shooting death

A Haltom City woman received a 30-year prison sentence this week for killing her cousin’s boyfriend.

Desire Joy Cooper, 41, was convicted July 21 by a Tarrant County jury of fatally shooting Antonio Wilson on Nov. 11, 2013. Cooper, who elected to have state District Judge George Gallagher set her sentence, will have to serve at least half of it before she becomes eligible for parole.

Cooper still has an aggravated assault case pending against her for wounding Wilson’s brother, James Holmes, according to Tarrant County district clerk records.

Cooper told authorities she was at a family gathering at the Sandy Oaks Apartments in Fort Worth when she got involved in a fistfight with other residents. When Wilson pulled Cooper out of the fight, she became upset, authorities said.

Later that day, a shouting match began in the parking lot, and Holmes fired two shots in the air, according to trial testimony. Trying to calm the situation, Wilson told Holmes to put the gun away.

An apartment manager testified that Cooper pulled out a gun, said, “Oh, we got guns,” took aim at Wilson and Holmes and fired six times as Wilson walked away. Wilson was shot once in the back of a leg and once in the head. Holmes was shot in the leg.

Wilson died at a hospital without ever regaining consciousness, authorities said. Cooper’s relatives testified during her trial that she fired her gun, but Cooper denied ever having a gun, prosecutor Allenna Bangs said.

Cooper testified that Holmes fired shots at her and that she ran and never saw who shot Wilson, said Bangs, who presented the state’s case with Assistant District Attorney Kelly Meador.

Sherry Walker and Xavier Bee, both relatives of Cooper, testified that they saw her fire the gun at Wilson and Holmes, Bangs said. The apartment manager, Holmes and and another witness testified that they saw Cooper with a gun, Bangs said.

“Antonio Wilson lost his life at the hands of Desire Cooper in an unnecessary display of ego,” Bangs said. “This verdict will end her pattern of violence for the next 30 years. We are thankful to the Fort Worth detectives who finally brought her to justice and to the family and witnesses who finally stood up to her.”

Jim Renforth, Cooper’s attorney, said he intends to appeal the conviction.

“This was a difficult case,” Renforth said. “We disagreed with the jury’s decision. We were hoping for a smaller number.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Haltom City woman gets 30 years for shooting death."