STERLING, Va. — A DoorDash driver who critically injured a man playing a prank on him for his YouTube video no longer has to stay behind bars.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Snow sentenced Alan Colie, 31, to time served for shooting social media prankster Tanner Cook, 21, in the stomach inside the Dulles Town Center Mall in April. Colie already spent eight months in jail.
“No citizen goes to the mall to become a pawn of a prank,” Snow said. “Cook self-selected Colie as his target. It was an unusual breach of social behavior.”
Snow added that Colie was not an “inherent danger to the public” but a danger to a person who “chose to harass” him.
In September, a jury found Colie not guilty of the most serious charge of aggravated malicious wounding. However, jurors handed him a guilty verdict for unlawful discharge of a weapon in an occupied building. A judge denied a motion to throw out the guilty verdict back in October.
Colie was picking up food at the food court when Cook approached him from behind while recording a prank video with a friend.
In the video shown during the four-day trial, the jury watched the roughly 20-second interaction when Cook kept playing an explicit audio recording on his phone near Colie’s face. The seemingly confused Colie kept backing away and told Cook to stop and warned that he would call police.
As Cook kept advancing, Colie pulled out a gun, which he testified that he legally carried for his protection, and shot the prankster once.
The defense argued that he was acting in self-defense. Colie previously testified that he felt confused and threatened by Cook, who was much taller than him. Colie also acknowledged carrying a gun during work as a way to protect himself after seeing reports of other delivery service drivers being robbed.
“It’s not someone carrying a firearm for a reason beyond self-protection,” defense attorney Adam Pouilliard told the judge during the sentencing hearing. “Alan Colie’s life has been ruined.”
The Commonwealth argued that Cook was never armed, never placed hands on Colie and never posed a threat. They stressed that just because Cook may not seem like a saint or his occupation makes him appear undesirable, that a conviction is warranted.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Eden Holmes said Colie deserved the higher end of the sentencing guidelines because he opened fire in a busy mall with multiple customers around. Holmes said Cook’s injury to his abdomen and how quickly Colie pulled out his gun should be factors.
For the specific charge, the judge was weighing a sentence between one day and six months.
Snow stressed that since Colie was carrying a firearm, he needed to approach it with responsibility. He said he understood Colie’s actions, but it doesn’t make it legal. The judge also revoked Colie’s concealed carry permit.
Cook was not in court during the sentencing. The judge denied considering a victim impact statement from his mother.
“I only hope wisdom will come along with his [Cook] growing age,” Snow added.
Cook’s YouTube Channel "Classified Goons" amassed more subscribers since the incident. Despite being shot while playing pranks, Cook continues to make videos, one as recent as a little over a week ago.
After the trial, Cook told WUSA9, "I really don't care, I mean it is what it is. It's God's plan at the end of the day."
Cook and his family were not immediately available for comment.
Colie’s attorneys said he plans to move to Winchester for a quieter life.