Father and son on trial for Fresno murder

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kevin Archie Cooper and Aaron Cooper both appeared in a Fresno County courtroom for their murder trial on Tuesday.

The father sat shackled on the left, as his son was shackled on the right of the defense's table.

Prosecutors have charged each defendant with one count of murder for the shooting death of Michael Williams.

He was killed at a home near Ashcroft and Marks Avenues, where he was staying, back in February of 2021.

Williams was not a perfect tenant, according to the couple who let him stay at their home.

Action News cannot show or name the husband and wife, but they took the stand on Tuesday and told the jury about Williams's dramatic change.

"It just went from him being (a) happy, normal person staying with us to him being angry and threatening us," the mother said.

She was fed up and so afraid for her family's safety that she was scared to walk by Williams in the hallway of her home.

The couple wanted Williams out but could not get him to leave.

"He threatened my family," she said. "He'd say he'd shoot up my house and stuff if I kicked him out."

With tensions reaching a boiling point, the husband and father testified he reached out for help and asked Aaron Cooper to tell Williams to leave.

That is when Aaron and his father, Kevin, allegedly went to the home, where the situation took a violent turn.

The wife and mother said she heard a bang.

"I was asleep, and the bang woke me up," she said. The police later woke her up, she added.

Police arrested the father and son about two months later.

Both Coopers have pleaded not guilty to murder, but it is unclear what their defense will be.

Much more will come out as this trial continues for about three weeks.

For news updates, follow Gabe Ferris on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.