Hearing set for man in El Cajon police assault case

A

n August 2 preliminary hearing has been set for a man suspected of knocking an El Cajon Police officer unconscious, causing a serious head injury on July 17.

Bail of $500,000 was set Friday for Daniel Moses Cook, 22, who is charged with felony assault on officer Jose Sioson, who is a 28-year veteran. Sioson was hospitalized and had several surgeries. Jail records say Cook is 6’3” and weighs 250 pounds.

A

n August 2 preliminary hearing has been set for a man suspected of knocking an El Cajon Police officer unconscious, causing a serious head injury on July 17.

Bail of $500,000 was set Friday for Daniel Moses Cook, 22, who is charged with felony assault on officer Jose Sioson, who is a 28-year veteran. Sioson was hospitalized and had several surgeries. Jail records say Cook is 6’3” and weighs 250 pounds.

A woman in the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant at 724 Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon used a police radio to quickly summon other officers, saying “officer down at KFC.” Other officers appeared and arrested Cook after he was tased.

The incident started at 9:45 a.m. at the Dollar store on Fletcher Parkway when Cook got two bottles of Mountain Dew and walked out without paying. A store surveillance camera showed Cook leaving and even holding the door open for two women as they also left.

Two employees followed Cook to the KFC and El Cajon Police were called. Sioson arrived and he began talking to Cook, who ignored him and punched him repeatedly even after the officer was down.

Cook is also charged with robbery at the Dollar store, possession of methamphetamine, being under the influence of methamphetamine, and resisting an executive officer. He pleaded not guilty before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein.

Cook has been convicted of domestic violence, resisting an executive officer, felony assault, and robbery, said Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lazar.

Another El Cajon police officer set up a gofundme.com account for lesha Booker, 34, the woman who used the police radio to summon other officers. She was living in her car at the time with two of her seven children.

Booker, who works as a bus driver, lost her rented home when the owner sold it. She told KGTV (Channel 10) that most of her children are living with relatives, but she is looking for a place to rent with all of her seven children, who are between 13 years old to a 10-month-old baby. She said landlords have turned her down because she had too many kids.

The GoFundMe account is listed as Iesha Assistance Fund and was set up July 20. She is pictured with two El Cajon Police officers.

Ramona man sentenced to six years

A 6-year term in state prison was handed down Friday for a Ramona man who pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of a 21-year-old woman and endangerment to his own two children.

A number of speakers addressed El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson before he imposed sentence for Paul Alan Schenk, 51, in the Sept. 12, 2016 death of Racheal Guarneros-Callahan.

Sandra Khoury, a sister of Guarneros-Callahan, 21, said afterwards the sentencing “means closure.”

“It’s a sense of peace that we don’t have to come back here every month and relive everything,” said Khoury, in an interview with KGTV (Channel 10).

“She had a big heart, a big smile, big brown eyes, and she would just do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat,” said Khoury. “She was self-less. She’s gonna be missed.”

Guarneros-Callahan was on her way home from work in a 2012 Nissan Altima when Schenk’s truck crossed the solid double yellow lines, hitting her vehicle head-on on Vista Ramona Road and Woods Hill Lane around 4:30 p.m. in Ramona. She died on impact.

Schenk also pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment as his children were in his Ford F-250 truck on Sept. 12, 2016. His 4-year-old son was not properly restrained in a car seat and he was ejected through the rear window of the pick-up with serious injuries. He landed in the cab area and a toolbox fell on him.

Schenk’s 5-year-old daughter was not properly restrained in a booster seat that was designed for a child her age. She struck the dashboard and both children went to a hospital, as did Schenk, who suffered fractured vertebrae.

Thompson gave Schenk credit for already serving 330 days in jail after he was arrested Oct. 7 following his release from a hospital.  He was fined $9,000. Schenk is a veteran.  A restitution hearing may be held later to determine if he should have to pay funeral and burial expenses for Guarneros-Callahan, who had a memorial service on Sept. 16 at the Mountain View Community Church in Ramona.

Several family members said they wanted to bring awareness of the danger of drinking and driving so other deaths can be prevented.