People v. Cook

Filed 1/5/21 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B301970

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA074144) v.

CAMERON ROY COOK,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Lisa M. Chung, Judge. Affirmed. Justin Behravesh, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Jason Tran and Shezad H. Thakor, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. __________________________

Cameron Cook’s mother called 911 to report that he was fighting with his brother. While she was on the phone with a dispatcher, Cook ripped the phone off the wall and threw it to the ground, which broke the phone and disconnected the call. A jury subsequently found Cook guilty of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. On appeal, Cook contends there is insufficient evidence supporting the conviction. We disagree and affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The evening of June 9, 2018, around 11:45 p.m., Cook was at home with his mother, Emmaline, as well as his father and brother.1 Emmaline heard Cook and his brother arguing. Cook said he wanted to hit his brother, and Cook’s father tried to step in to prevent a fight. Emmaline saw Cook inching closer to his brother, who was sitting down, and she believed Cook was about to attack him. At some point she heard Cook’s father fall to the ground, and she assumed he had been pushed. Emmaline called 911 using a landline telephone attached to a wall, which was about 20 feet from Cook. She told the dispatcher Cook was fighting her other son and “the last time the cops came they told me to call them when he’s all cutting up, acting, doing some illegal stuff.” Emmaline then provided her street address and full name. While Emmaline was speaking with the dispatcher, Cook ripped the phone off the wall and threw it on the floor. The phone broke, which disconnected the call. The wire was no longer