Vonelle Cook was indeed a thug, but not nearly as bad a thug as George Floyd, but definitely a bad actor. At age 73, he was suffering the ravage of 73 years of living a rather unexemplary life. He was a regular at a local Dunkin Donuts restaurant in Tampa.
In 2021, Cook found himself exasperated trying to get a cup coffee in the drive through of his Dunkin restaurant. So, Cook, who was known as a troublesome character, went inside the restaurant to complain. He was confronted by the shift manager Corey Pujols and a verbal altercation took place wherein Cook repeatedly used THE forbidden expletive in reference to Pujols. Pujols went around the counter, insisting that Cook stop using the N word, ordering him to leave the restaurant. When Cook refused and continued using the word, Pujols punched him. Cook went down, hitting his head hard, was taken to the hospital, and three days later expired.
Pujols was arrested and at first charged with felony battery having struck a person over the age of 65. When the man died, Cook was charged with manslaughter.
Pujol’s cased elicited a great deal of publicity, especially among African-American publications which felt Pujols was justified in retaliating when addressed with most forbidden expletive in the English language. In contrast, others maintained that insulting speech does not justify violence of any kind much less homicide.
George Soros prosecutor, Andrew Warren, who was recently fired by our excellent Governor DeSantis agreed with the leftists and offered Pujols a plea. Warren explained the plea to the Tampa Times in that the:
Blockquote “totality of the circumstances” was considered when agreeing to Pujols’ plea deal, including his age, lack of criminal history, Vonelle Cook’s comments, and the fact that he did not intend to cause Vonelle Cook’s death. Two of the primary factors were the aggressive approach the victim took toward the defendant and everyone working with the defendant, and that the victim repeatedly used possibly the most aggressive and offensive term in the English language,”
A trial was held, and the judge honored the offered plea wherein Pujols was sentenced to two years of house arrest followed by three years probation.He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and attend anger management. He received no jail time.
Pujols was not THAT young; he was 27 at the time. Compare how Pujols was treated compared with the Minnesota police officer who confused her firearm with a taser. The end result in both cases was homicide, yet only the cop got sent to the peniteniary.
I just finished reading Andrew Warren’s lawsuit against Gov. DeSantis. The complaint is expertly written, Andrews is an excellent draftsman, but I think DeSantis should and will prevail in federal court. It remains incredible to me that there is any exculpation of violent behavior provoked by hostile speech. Pujols should have gone to prison, and Warren deserved being fired.