It was his bad luck to meet a man Thursday who was a suspect in a statutory rape investigation and decided he didn’t want to be questioned.

When the two met, Christopher Cooper shot Deputy Todd Cook at least five times in the head, back and thigh, led the sheriff’s department on a short, fast chase, wrecked his car and put a rifle in his own mouth and pulled the trigger.

Two men were dead.

And shocked co-workers are grieving the death of a deputy “who was liked by everyone,” says Sabrina Hopkins, secretary to Sheriff Gerald Hege. “He wanted the job with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, didn’t question the salary or anything, had a wonderful character about him and was always willing to help anybody.”

And he leaves a daughter with Down syndrome who will be a year old next Thursday.

He had worked with the Sheriff’s Department about three years, according to Sheriff Hege.

“He had worked with the jail,” he says, “and approached me about coming down to the line. He wanted to be a line deputy. He was a nice looking young man, very athletic, physically fit, and when I spoke to him about the dangers of being on the road, that didn’t deter him any.

“He was one of the key players in our team. He did a super job. It’s a tragedy.”

Hege particularly praises his work with the elderly.

“We check on about 80 elderly every day,” he said. “We started that about two years ago. Since last February, we’ve checked on 17,000 elderly.

“He was one of the first guys I assigned to that when I started the program. We’ve found four or five, maybe six people in comas and saved their lives. We make sure they’ve got heat, medicine, see if their furnaces are working. He loved it.

“He was a fine officer, a very safety conscious officer. That’s what’s so puzzling about him being shot in the back. He was what any sheriff or chief would want as a worker. Very professional, very well mannered, always willing to help others.

“And to be shot in the back ... ,” his voice carries disbelief. “It was a simple, second degree trespassing” charge.

If all had gone well, Cook would have taken Cooper to the Davidson County Courthouse to sign a paper, acknowledging the trespassing charge.

That, Hege said, was “something you’d just ride down, sign your name and go home. Just a matter of processing the paper. No bond. And he (Deputy Cook) didn’t even have the paper with him.”

But Cook was assisting Lexington Police Officer Melissa Price, who also wanted to question Cooper about statutory rape allegations a Lexington woman had raised against Cooper. Price expected to question Cooper about those allegations when he got to the courthouse, Hege said at a press conference this morning.

He went to the door, Hege told the Post earlier, and knocked, “but nobody would come to the door.” Deputy Cook left the house and called Price, the Lexington officer, back.

Price called Cooper’s house, learned that he was home and called Cook again. Cook returned to Cooper’s house.

“The victim evidently unlocked the door for him,” Hege told the Post. “We’re bringing his brother back into the Sheriff’s Department today” to question him further. “The information he was giving us is just not jiving. The fact that Todd Cook was shot in the back several times is not a typical Todd Cook procedure unless he was ambushed some way.”

Cook lived in Rural Hall in Forsyth County, Hege said. He was trying to find a home. “He and his fiance were getting ready to get married. The baby had just had heart surgery a few months back.”

Hege added that contributions could be sent to the Todd Cook Family, Blue Line Foundation, 2670 Greensboro St. Extension, Lexington, N.C. 27292.

Hege and his wife, Gerri, set up the foundation about a month ago to help disabled and injured officers throughout the nation.

“All my ‘Court TV’ salary will go into it,” he said. “I work for ‘Court TV’ on the side, do a show every Thursday night.”

Hege just signed a new contract for the year 2000 season involving 20 shows and estimates the contributions to the foundation will be roughly $100,000 a year.

“We just got the charter back,” he says. “It’s tax deductible. We have a board of directors. The money goes to medical expenses, car payments, house payments.”

Lexington Police Lt. Keith Owen said Cook did not have the warrant in his possession.

“We were working a case where (Cooper) was a suspect in a statutory rape case, and Melissa Price had told him that when he was arrested and brought to the courthouse on the second degree trespass that he was a suspect in one of our cases and we needed to speak him.”

Clerk of Court Brian Shipwash said his office does not consider the warrant, which was issued Thursday morning, to be served since Cooper did not have it.