A 39-year-old Hemet man suspected of shooting his roommate during an altercation that erupted over money was being held Thursday on $1 million bail.
Dante Trimell Cooper was arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Wednesday night on suspicion of attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a gun and firearm assault resulting in great bodily injury.
According to Hemet police Lt. Nathan Miller, about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cooper was involved in a heated exchange with his roommate, identified only as a 42-year-old man, at their apartment in the 300 block of West Kimball Avenue, near State Street.
Miller said that the argument, evidently connected to cost sharing, escalated into a fight and the roommate “hit (the suspect) in the face and head and began running.”
Cooper “chased after the man and then shot him several times,” the lieutenant alleged.
Patrol officers reached the location within a couple of minutes and found the victim wounded but conscious, according to Miller.
The victim allegedly identified Cooper, nearby, who was taken into custody without a struggle.
The gunshot victim was taken to a trauma center for surgery and was in critical condition but expected to survive, according to the police spokesman. Cooper was treated for his injuries and transported to the Murrieta jail hours later.
Background information on the suspect was not available.