Former Norland High track star Tyrese Cooper held after armed robbery in Miami-Dade
Former Miami Norland Senior High School track star Tyrese Cooper has run out of moves — after his arrest by the feds on charges of using a gun to rob a mobile phone store.
Cooper, who was once one of the nation’s top high school sprinters and middle-distance runners, was ordered detained Tuesday by a Miami federal magistrate who found the 20-year-old a danger to the community.
Cooper, who also starred on the football field for the Norland Vikings, was going to attend the University of Oregon just a couple of years ago. But those dreams are dashed.
Last month, Cooper was arrested on armed robbery charges stemming from the theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of cellular phones at a Mobile One store in Miami Gardens on June 30, 2020. FBI agents were able to link him to the alleged crime from video surveillance and blood stains left at the scene.
His lawyers with the Federal Public Defender’s Office could not be reached for comment.
According to a criminal complaint, Cooper and two other men were wearing hoodies and face masks as they entered the store, with Cooper pointing a handgun at the store employee. “The employee ran to the back of the store to hide and call the police because he feared for his life,” the complaint says.
Cooper broke the glass display counter while holding the gun, but he cut his right hand. He left behind a trail of blood on the display case and floor, the complaint says. The other two men reached into the display case and grabbed cellular phones and other merchandise valued at $19,000.
The employee later received an anonymous tip that Cooper robbed the Mobile One store. He checked Facebook and recognized Cooper as one of his customers, but he didn’t know if he was one of the robbers.
FBI agents, working with a Miami-Dade Police Department lab, were able to match the blood sample found at the store to that of Cooper from a prior theft case in which he was charged.
Then, last month, the store employee called the FBI to inform agents that Cooper returned to the Mobile One store in Miami Gardens. The store’s video surveillance showed Cooper inside the store holding his arms out in front of the display case as if he were measuring it. Cooper was not wearing a mask in the video.
Cooper was later arrested on armed robbery charges, which carry a maximum sentence of more than 10 years. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan cited that factor along with the substantial evidence in deciding to hold Cooper behind bars before trial.
It was not his first brush with the law.
In May 2018, Cooper was accused by Miami-Dade police of trying to steal a rental car from the Miami Intermodal Center near Miami International Airport. His DNA from that case helped the FBI crack the armed robbery in Miami Gardens.
Cooper’s downfall was swift after a sensational athletic career in high school.
He was previously named the Florida Dairy Farmers Association’s Athlete of the Year for Florida in 2016, in his freshman year at American High. He transferred to Miami Norland for his sophomore year and built his résumé on the field.
Cooper played wide receiver and defensive back but what really turned heads was his blinding speed. High school state championships in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes were preceded by middle school state records that he still owns.
In August 2016, Cooper ran new personal bests in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. His 400 meters times of 45.23 seconds came within .09 seconds of Obea Moore’s World Youth Best and surpassed Kirani James for the fifth-fastest by a Youth (under 18) athlete ever.
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 6:02 PM.
