Gamer blurs reality posing as FBI agent carrying fake gun into Whangārei pub

Shane Cooper (right), of Whangārei, pictured in February 2021 dressed as a character from a video game, with a friend.

A man who gamed up to 24 hours a day became so blurred with reality, he dressed up as his fantasy character — an FBI agent — then went to the pub and flashed a fake Glock pistol at security, a situation where he could have potentially been shot by police.

Shane Cooper, of Tikipunga, appeared for sentencing in the Whangārei District Court on a charge of unlawfully carrying an imitation firearm this week after his gaming addiction took hold of him and he decided to portray his gaming fantasy.

On Friday, May 5, Cooper had spent the day at home drinking, gaming and playing dress-up as an FBI agent.

About midnight, still dressed as an FBI agent, he went to the Grand Hotel in Whangārei where he flashed the inside of his jacket at security with what looked like a Glock gun and magazines attached to a gun holster.

He then proceeded to play on the pokie machines and was arrested on the street after staff became concerned with his behaviour.

On further inspection, the “Glock” turned out to be an air BB gun and when asked why he was carrying the gun around in a holster, he told police it was “because of the recent Whangārei stabbing”.

The Grand Hotel where Shane Cooper flashed an imitation gun at security then proceeded to play the pokies. Photo / NZME

The 38-year-old’s chronic gaming addiction and dangerous role-playing tendencies almost slipped through the courts undetected; however, in May, Judge Brandt Shortland became alarmed by the details of his offending and called for mental health reports.

“This is a man with a combination of alcohol, taking on a persona in the gaming world and then imitating.

“Given his offending, he’s a prime candidate to be shot by the Armed Offenders Squad,” Judge Shortland said in May.

Cooper also has a moderate criminal history of holding firearms without a licence.

Back in court this week for sentencing, Cooper’s lawyer Jarrod Griffin said his client now understood the seriousness of what he had done, had stopped drinking and was engaged with a psychiatrist.

“He was immersed in a gaming fantasy world, immersed on this night, he was playing dress-up as an undercover FBI,” Griffin said.

“He can only imagine what a frightening experience it would have been at the Grand Hotel. A person confronts the security doorman, juiced, and shows him a belt with what turns out to be a gas-powered BB gun.”

Griffin said he was “gunning for a sentence of supervision”.

Judge John McDonald said the look of a fake and real Glock is identical and Cooper had put himself in a potentially explosive situation.

“There was a real possibility you could have been shot by police. If that had occurred, it would have been with great sadness to your family and in society, the police would have been blamed for your shooting,” Judge McDonald said.

“You were in a fantasy state of mind, but now you are back in reality.”

Cooper was sentenced to five months’ community detention, 60 hours’ community work and 12 months’ supervision.

An order for destruction was also made for the BB gun, fake magazines and holster.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tōkerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi-Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.