Kelly Cooper, a Republican who ran for Congress against Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) last fall, had another one of his restaurants burglarized recently, about four months after he announced his intent to challenge Stanton again. Cooper blamed the rise in crime in the Valley on Stanton’s polices, saying he is responsible for “worsening crime.”
The congressional hopeful told The Arizona Sun Times it could be a regular smash and grab or a targeted political attack. He said his other two restaurants had been broken into before, but this was the most organized burglary he’d experienced. He pointed to the high percentage of felons involved with the BLM and Antifa riots and noted that the burglars drove a white C-Class Mercedes. Additionally, the burglars only took the safe; they ignored a $1,500 iPad sitting on top of the safe and the big-screen TVs.
Area conservatives have hosted political events at Cooper’s Chandler restaurant, BKD’s Backyard Joint. Video footage from Cooper’s security cameras showed the four burglars, who wore masks and hoods, breaking the glass on the door at 3 a.m. early Sunday morning. They spray painted over one of the security camera’s lenses. They headed directly for the office, where the safe was, which Cooper said made him believe they knew in advance where it was. They were in and out in about three minutes.
Cooper shared video footage from the alleged crime with The Sun Times.
The restaurateur said that the burglars didn’t get very much money, a few thousand dollars, since most payments from customers are through cards, not in cash. However, it is still a significant loss to Cooper since he must also buy a new safe, pay the deductible on his insurance, and make repairs.
There were four other burglaries in Chandler over the weekend, which police believe may be related. The locations have not been released yet.
Cooper told The Sun Times that he is concerned Stanton’s policies are worsening crime in the Valley. When Stanton was mayor of the City of Phoenix from 2012 to 2018, crime increased while the number of police officers remained the same. During the first part of Stanton’s mayoral tenure until 2015, there was a hiring freeze at the Phoenix Police Department. Immediately after he left office, between 2019 and 2020, violent crime — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault — in Arizona increased by 8.6 percent, nearly double the national rate of 4.6 percent.
While in Congress, Stanton voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would end qualified immunity for police officers. As part of that, he also voted against a motion to recommit a bill to condemn calls to “defund,” “disband,” “dismantle” or “abolish” the police.
Cooper easily won the Republican primary nomination for CD 4 in 2022 and lost to Stanton by 12 points, closer than most Republican challengers have come in recent years in the Democratic-leaning district. With Cooper likely to win the nomination again in 2024, he is expected to present a stronger challenge to Stanton. Cooper is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
– – –
Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kelly Cooper” by Kelly Cooper.
