FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) — A Fayetteville man linked to last year's shooting on Dickson Street was sentenced Monday (July 29) to just under five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.
Emmitt Cosen, 27, pleaded guilty in March in Fort Smith federal court to possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana.
As part of his plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss additional counts of illegal weapons and drug charges. Cosen was indicted in December 2018.
Cosen's sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also fined $3,500.
Investigators learned Cosen illegally possessed a gun after a sting operation in March 2018. The task force was investigating Cosen for distributing marijuana.
Cosen admitted to selling marijuana after police found a storage room filled with 16 pounds of marijuana that had been packed in vacuum-sealed bags, according to court documents.
At the time, he was on probation for a marijuana offense in Kansas.
Cosen was arrested a month later for beating and drugging his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
The woman, who was three months pregnant at the time, told Fayetteville police she went to help Cosen clean his house when he attacked her.
According to an arrest report, Cosen slapped and punched her, then began choking her. She said Cosen also threatened her, saying “if you think you’re leaving here with that baby in your stomach, then you must really not know me.”
Cosen then forced her to shower and punched her head into a towel rack. From there he strapped her to his bed and forced her to swallow two Xanax pills.
She said Cosen also had sex with her while she was tied down, but she was too scared to tell him to stop, according to the report
Police said the woman’s family found her the following morning.
Cosen was back in handcuffs by July 2018, this time for allegedly shooting at the JJ’s Grill on Dickson Street.
Witnesses said Cosen had been asked to leave the restaurant after a fight. They said he returned and fired several gunshots toward the building. There were no injuries.
Police tracked Cosen to his home, where they found nearly eight pounds of marijuana, 15 Xanax pills, digital scales, baggies, a marijuana grinder and $5,490 in cash.
Cosen's state charges were dismissed after he pleaded guilty in federal court.