Ex-cop targeted estranged wife in deadly Orange County biker bar shooting
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, Aug. 25.
A gunman killed three and wounded six others at a biker bar in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon on Wednesday evening.
A family-friendly bar, Cook’s Corner is a popular spot for motorcycle enthusiasts, nestled where El Toro, Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads meet near O’Neill Regional Park. On Wednesday the bar has an $8 all-you-can-eat spaghetti night.
The members of classic-rock cover band M Street were a few songs into their 7 p.m. set, midway through Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” when they heard loud bangs.
A gunman had entered the bar, where families were having dinner and some groups celebrated birthdays, and began firing before continuing shooting outside.
“I couldn’t even give you a number of shots he took,” M Street member Debbie Johnson told Times reporter August Brown. “Fifty? More? The Cook’s staff were protecting the other side of the building closer to the kitchen. But we were truly fish in a barrel.”
The shooter died at the scene after a gun battle with police. He had four weapons, two pistols, a revolver and a shotgun, all acquired legally, officials said.
Officials identified the gunman as John Snowling, 59, a former sergeant in the Ventura Police Department and former head of the Ventura Police Officers’ Association. He retired from the department in 2014.
Authorities said the assailant was targeting his estranged wife, Marie Snowling, a regular at the bar.
Marie Snowling filed for divorce in December 2022. She then moved out of the couple’s home in Camarillo to Orange County to live with her sick mother, according to James Goldsmith, one of the Snowlings’ neighbors.
John Snowling was living in Ohio.
On Wednesday night, the gunman walked up to his estranged wife and immediately shot her once, wounding her. He then shot the woman with whom she was dining, who later died. She has not been identified by name.
Another man was shot after he confronted the gunman in the bar’s parking lot, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said. That man, who also has not been identified, later died.
Officials identified one of the men who was killed as John Leehey, 67, of Irvine.
Two of the injured were in critical condition and the others were stable. Some have already been released from the hospital.
Among those injured were M Street guitarist Ed Means and bassist Dave Stretch. Their bandmates said they would be OK.
Barnes said investigators were still searching for a motive.
And now, here’s what’s happening across California from Ryan Fonseca:
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L.A. STORIES
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Thousands are vacationing at Lake Tahoe this summer, including President Biden and his family. His high-profile trip comes as locals mull how to preserve the mountain community’s natural splendor while also keeping an ample flow of tourists — and their money. Los Angeles Times
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CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING
“Unprecedented” is a word we hear a lot to describe former President Donald Trump. The latest first for the 2024 GOP frontrunner: first U.S. president with a mugshot. Trump surrendered to authorities in Georgia on Thursday night following his indictment last week (his fourth, if we’re still counting) on accusations he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Los Angeles Times
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HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
With wildfires growing more intense, California’s fire agency is trying out a new tool: artificial intelligence. Cal Fire officials are using an AI system that monitors camera feeds throughout the state to detect fires. Los Angeles Times
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CALIFORNIA CULTURE
“Stand and Deliver,” starring Edward James Olmos as an L.A. educator who teaches calculus to his underprivileged Latino students, turned 35 this year. Contributor JP Brammer rewatched the film — part of what he calls the “Holy Chicano Trinity” — and explored how it holds up decades later. De Los
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AND FINALLY
Today’s California landmark is from Andrew Good of Pasadena: The Great Wall of Los Angeles, a massive mural along a flood control channel in L.A.’s Valley Glen neighborhood.
Andrew writes:
There are bigger and better landmarks, but I love the history it captures of Southern California. It features the voices of those at the margins of our history textbooks and was developed as part of a democratic project that involved neighborhood school kids. The fact that it also is being expanded raises the question of California’s future: How do we want to remember its history? Who is included? What are the milestones worth preserving?
We’re running low on new landmark submissions. Help us out! (But please note: We’re all stocked up on Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Joshua Tree and lighthouses ... so many lighthouses.)
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