20 September 2023- A man who seemingly wanted to go to jail on as many charges as he could is now getting his wish after a number of felonies are leveled against him. Travis Dale Coover is charged in a domestic incident with misdemeanor assault and summary harassment. In a separate but related incident, Coover is facing four counts of felony aggravated assault against law enforcement and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Coover’s combined bail from both cases adds to $85,000.
Troopers were dispatched around 5pm on September 19th for a reported domestic dispute between a father and son. The caller, Coover’s mother, told officers that her son was being restrained on the floor of her home by his father after Coover got a gun and made self-harming statements to her and her husband. When police arrived they found the elder Coover holding his 22 year old son on the floor in the back room of the residence. Travis Coover was interviewed initially by police but he allegedly said his father was trying to stop him from leaving the home.
Subsequent interviews with the victims saw police learn that the younger Coover allegedly had had an argument leading to him punching holes in the wall and damaging two doors. This then reportedly escalated when Coover grabbed a shotgun and said that he “wanted to be with his deceased grandmother”. Coover was restrained when heading towards a room with additional firearms, in which he was kept until police arrived and took him into custody.
Coover was taken by PSP Troopers to Chambersburg Hospital for a mental health evaluation due to his potentially self-harm related statements. During the evaluation, Coover allegedly told doctors that he was “gaming to gain charges by fighting” one of the police Troopers. He also allegedly told them he thought he was positive for Hepatitis C. After the Trooper and staff exited the room, Coover allegedly began stretching, jumping up and down, and took off his shirt.
Upon being advised that his involuntary mental health commitment was denied, Coover was discharged and placed under arrest. As a number of officers entered the room he allegedly began counting them out loud, eventually saying “twelve guys. This is gonna hurt”.
Police reportedly had to struggle with the resisting Coover to get him into cuffs and into police cruisers. When he was finally placed in the vehicle with a cage, Coover reportedly headbutted the cage and yelled “ow, why did you do that to me” in an effort to insinuate that one of the Troopers had pushed him into it. Troopers allege that Coover tried this same tactic three more times and said similar things to try to get Troopers in trouble. During the commotion getting him into the car and during the headbutting incidents, Coover’s blood was drawn and got on two of the Troopers, which again he said was likely Hepatitis C positive. He additionally kicked and kneed multiple officers.
Travis Coover is behind bars on $85,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for October 3rd.
Sources: Docket Number: MJ-39307-CR-0000212-2023, Incident No.: PA 2023-1234992, Docket Number: MJ-39307-CR-0000213-2023, Incident No.: PA 2023-1235496
