On July 16, 2015, Clement D. Cooper, a 36-year-old African American man from Columbus, Ohio, died during a violent confrontation that began as a home-invasion robbery on Scales Drive. Cooper and an accomplice, Michael Long, had entered the house intending to steal guns. The encounter escalated: one occupant was beaten unconscious and tied up, another was shot, and a third occupant, Shawn Bowles, repeatedly stabbed Clement Cooper before strangling him to death.

Michael Long was arrested and charged with multiple offenses including murder, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping; he was later sentenced in September 2016 to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Trial testimony indicated the incident was not racially motivated despite a Confederate flag in the house and one occupant’s past association with a white-supremacist group. Cooper is survived by his parents, children, siblings and other relatives.

Does anyone have additional information about Cooper’s life or the neighborhood on Scales Drive in 2015?