‘You are out of control.’ Man sentenced for causing 2 police shootouts, stealing 2 cars
A man who shot at police officers in downtown Meridian after stealing two vehicles could serve as many as 40 years in prison.
Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin on Friday sentenced Jake Cottrell, 40, of Boise, to 20 years fixed for two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, plus 20 years indeterminate for robbery. That means he could serve the final 20 years of the sentence in prison or on parole.
Cottrell pleaded guilty to those three charges last year in a plea agreement that dropped other charges filed against him, according to a news release from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
On June 9, 2022, parole officers went to Cottrell’s Boise trailer for a home visit, said Brett Judd, deputy Ada County prosecutor, during the sentencing hearing. Cottrell was on parole after a 2012 felony conviction for domestic violence, which he violated in 2018 after receiving a DUI.
The officers found drug needles after going into the trailer and told Cottrell that they would be performing a pat-down search, Judd said. They asked if he had anything on his person. Cottrell pulled a gun as the officers approached him and fled the trailer.
They followed him and shot Cottrell when he turned and pointed his gun at them, himself firing a round into a nearby shed, said Christian Collins, his public defender.
Cottrell, wounded, kept running and stole a Camaro, Judd said. He drove 1.9 miles to an area near Eagle Road and State Street, where he stole a truck from its owner at gunpoint. Cottrell then drove the truck — which contained guns belonging to its owner and also had a trailer hitched to it — to the parking lot of an Eagle restaurant. He unhooked the trailer before police chased him into downtown Meridian, Judd said.
In body camera footage prosecutors showed in court, officers were heard saying that Cottrell was driving as fast as 75 miles per hour directly into oncoming traffic. He came within 2 feet of a motorcyclist at one point during the chase, Judd said.
An officer eventually used his patrol car to ram the truck Cottrell was driving at an intersection near Meridian City Hall, Judd said. Body camera footage showed Cottrell exchanging gunfire with police before being shot multiple times. The prosecutor said police found 14 shell casings, meaning Cottrell fired at least that many shots.
Cottrell was hospitalized for six weeks and had multiple surgeries, Collins said. He lost part of the roof of his mouth, most of the vision in his left eye and the use of his right hand.
Judd asked Baskin to sentence Cottrell to 50 years, with 20 fixed. Cottrell’s behavior was extreme, he said, and it was a miracle no one else was hurt.
“This level of violence, this level of risk to the community, is not acceptable,” he said.
Collins asked the judge for a sentence of 30 years, with eight years fixed. The sentence requested by the prosecution was basically a life sentence, the defense attorney said, and Cottrell demonstrated during his previous parole period that he could be successfully supervised.
“Due to the injuries he received that day, frankly I don’t believe he’s a danger to anyone anymore,” Collins said.
In a statement to the court before sentencing, Cottrell said he has nothing but remorse for his actions.
“I shouldn’t have done what I did, and that’s all there is to it,” he said.
Baskin said the case was “extremely tragic” because of the injuries Cottrell suffered, and the emotional and psychological harm he caused people and law enforcement. Cottrell’s actions will make parole offices more timid about doing their jobs, she said, citing a letter she read from an officer who said he thinks about the incident every day.
The judge told Cottrell he had multiple opportunities to defuse the situation, but continued to escalate it.
“You are out of control,” she said.
