Cook's Corner shooting was justified, D.A. finds

O.C. deputies' lethal use of force at biker bar was proper, investigation says.

- BY GABRIEL SAN ROMÁN

PETER PHILIPS at a memorial with portraits of Glen Sprowl Jr., Tonya Clark and John Leehey.

(ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times)

Sheriff's deputies acted properly when they returned fire and killed a retired police officer who had already shot and killed three patrons and injured six at a landmark Trabuco Canyon biker bar, an investigation by the Orange County district attorney's office has found.

The report called the responding Orange County sheriff’s deputies “justified” in making the decision to fire multiple rounds at John Patrick Snowling, who'd turned Cook’s Corner into what a survivor called a “war zone” when he opened fire on patrons during a popular spaghetti night promotion on Aug. 23, 2023.

“I was in fear for my life,” Deputy Brandon Espinosa told investigators for the district attorney, according to a report on the shooting. “I realized how close I was to getting shot.”

The district attorney’s office sent a copy of its report to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes in April but did not publicly release it until Oct. 21. The office typically investigates shootings involving officers countywide.