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FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — The Johnson County prosecutor resigned Wednesday after his sentencing for a March domestic violence incident, according to an amended plea agreement obtained by News 8.

Bradley Cooper pleaded guilty in April to charges connected to accusations that he beat his former fiancée and held her against her will inside his Trafalgar home March 4 and 5.

According to court documents, Cooper hit his fiancée, causing an injury to her right eye, and held her against her will in his home. That’s when she escaped to a nearby neighbor’s home to call 911.

Court documents show Cooper also pretended to be the victim in electronic messages he sent to someone else.

Cooper on April 15 pleaded guilty to these charges:

  • Criminal confinement – Level 6 felony, entered for conviction as a class A misdemeanor
  • Domestic battery – Class A misdemeanor
  • Identity deception – Level 6 felony
  • Official misconduct – Level 6 felony

As part of his plea deal, Cooper will not serve any time in jail.

Instead, he will serve 540 days of supervised probation, pay restitution, and participate in a counseling program.

Cooper, a Republican, was appointed prosecutor in 2009 in a Republican caucus to fill the vacancy left by Lance Hamner. He ran unopposed in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 elections.

After his resignation, the Johnson County Republican Party will need to conduct a caucus to appoint someone to complete the rest of Cooper’s term, which ends in 2022.

In the interim, Chief Deputy Joseph Villanueva is acting prosecutor.

In a Tuesday statement to News 8, Dolan said a question about Cooper’s salary was pending review:

There is currently a question regarding Bradley Cooper’s salary.  The matter is under review by the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration (OJA) and the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.  It is a matter of public record that prosecutors are paid the 2019 annual salary of $151,137. The salary is paid from the Indiana Supreme Court’s Office of Judicial Administration budget, which administers payroll for prosecutors.

Mr. Cooper has been receiving his annual salary this year until late last week when the OJA placed Mr. Cooper in no-pay status pending review of the matter. 

(Photo by WISH-TV.)