Cohen v. State

2008 WY 78, 191 P.3d 956, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 83, 2008 WL 2715693
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 14, 2008
DocketS-07-0082
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2008 WY 78 (Cohen v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cohen v. State, 2008 WY 78, 191 P.3d 956, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 83, 2008 WL 2715693 (Wyo. 2008).

Opinion

GOLDEN, Justice.

[¶ 1] A jury convicted Appellant, Zacha-ria Charles Cohen, of one misdemeanor and five felonies. Cohen challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions on two of the felonies, attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault and battery. He also claims the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence. We affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] Cohen offers the following issues: 1

*958 I. Whether there was insufficient evidence to prove Appellant attempted to commit first degree homicide when there was no evidence of a substantial step towards committing first degree homicide.
II. Whether there was insufficient evidence to prove Appellant committed aggravated assault as charged by the State since there was no evidence of a substantial step towards committing aggravated assault.
III. Whether the district court erred when it denied Appellant’s motion to suppress evidence seized after an illegal stop.

FACTS

[¶ 3] On March 2, 2006, agents of a Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Drug Task Force were conducting surveillance on Cohen’s residence in Casper in an effort to find and arrest Cohen on a bench warrant. The warrant was issued in a Natrona County drug ease after Cohen failed to appear at his district court arraignment. During their surveillance, the agents observed a Caucasian male exit the residence and drive away in a white pickup truck. The truck stopped at a nearby convenience store where Special Agent Lonny TeBeest contacted the driver, Darwin Haselhuhn. Haselhuhn was ultimately arrested on some traffic violations, and his vehicle was towed to E & F Wrecker Service. Believing that Haselhuhn might lead officers to Cohen, Special Agent Tina Trimble asked personnel at E & F Wrecker Service to contact her when Haselhuhn attempted to retrieve his truck.

[¶ 4] Around noon the next day, March 3, E & F Wrecker Service notified Agent Trim-ble that Haselhuhn had arrived in a black Camaro to pay the storage fee, and that he was leaving to get the registration for the truck so it could be released. Agent Trimble responded to the E & F Wrecker location, accompanied by Special Agent Kevin Nor-cross. As the agents approached the business, they saw the black Camaro coming toward them, with Haselhuhn situated in the passenger seat. Agents Trimble and Nor-cross followed the Camaro to the Mountain View Conoco, where both Haselhuhn and the driver—recognized by the agents to be Cohen—exited the vehicle.

[¶ 5] Agent Norcross approached the Ca-maro on foot while Agent Trimble maneuvered her unmarked car to block the vehicle from leaving. Agent Norcross contacted Cohen, who was back inside the vehicle sitting in the driver’s seat, and identified himself. Cohen immediately put the Camaro in gear and, as Agent Norcross reached inside the driver’s window in an attempt to pull the keys out of the ignition, Cohen sped away, barely avoiding striking Agent Trimble’s car. As a result of Cohen’s actions, Agent Nor-cross sustained minor injuries to both arms.

[¶ 6] Agent Trimble pursued Cohen, while Agent Norcross remained at the Cono-co station with Haselhuhn. Officers from other law enforcement agencies joined in the pursuit of Cohen. Casper Police Officer Chris Wenberg, who had been listening to the events over the radio, positioned himself at McKinley and F Streets, anticipating that Cohen might be traveling that way. A few minutes later, Officer Wenberg saw the Ca-maro approaching the area and he attempted, without success, to deploy his stop sticks to deflate its tires. Shortly thereafter, police found the Camaro abandoned at Jackson and B Streets. A citizen reported that the driver of the vehicle, a white male wearing a gray shirt, had run away on foot.

[¶7] Officer Wenberg went to the location and, along with other officers, began a grid search of the area. While driving southbound on McKinley Street, Officer Wenberg observed a SUV stopped on the right side of the street, between B Street and Yellowstone Highway, with its brake lights illuminated. He then noticed a white male, wearing an orange sweatshirt and white hat, coming from between two houses on the left. The man, who matched Cohen’s physical description, crossed McKinley Street and entered the passenger side of the SUV. The SUV then pulled away from the curb, prompting Officer Wenberg to activate his overhead lights and execute a stop of the vehicle. 2

[¶ 8] Officer Wenberg approached the passenger side of the SUV and asked the *959 passenger, later identified as Cohen, for identification. Cohen claimed to have no identification and stated his name was Shawn Davis. When asked for his date of birth, Cohen provided a disjointed response that further raised the officer’s suspicions. Fairly convinced that the passenger was, in fact, Cohen, Officer Wenberg called for backup. He then opened the passenger door and told Cohen and the driver to keep their hands where he could see them.

[¶ 9] Thereafter, Officer Wenberg saw Cohen move his left hand, which had been resting in his lap, toward his left side. The officer placed his hand on Cohen’s right arm and, once again, told Cohen to keep his hands where they could be seen, but Cohen tipped to the right and continued to move his left hand until it disappeared from view. Officer Wenberg reached around Cohen and managed to grab Cohen’s left wrist, but not before Cohen pulled a black Ruger .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol from the waistband of his pants. In the ensuing struggle, Officer Wenberg dislodged the pistol from Cohen’s grip, causing it to fly through the air and land in a cup holder located on the front console. Officer Wenberg then pulled Cohen out of the SUV and onto the ground, where the struggle continued. With the aid of other officers arriving at the scene, Cohen was eventually subdued and arrested.

[¶ 10] Shortly before Officer Wenberg’s struggle with Cohen began, Casper Police Sergeant Mark Trimble arrived at the scene of the stop and positioned himself by the driver’s side door of the SUV. As Sergeant Trimble was monitoring the exchange between Cohen and Officer Wenberg, he noticed Cohen’s left hand moving behind his back toward his waistband. Sergeant Trim-ble pulled his gun from its holster and shouted, “He’s reaching.” He pointed his gun at Cohen and told him to stop. Cohen did not heed the sergeant’s commands and continued to move his left hand toward his back. Sergeant Trimble then saw Cohen, bringing his left hand forward, holding the grip of a black semi-automatic pistol.

[¶ 11] Police searched Cohen incident to his arrest and found $3,460.00, mostly in $100.00 bills, in his rear pockets. An examination of the pistol disclosed that the safety was off, a live round of ammunition was in the chamber and the magazine was fully loaded. The only action needed to fire the pistol was a single pull of the trigger. Police later searched the Camaro and found 14 grams of methamphetamine and 73 small plastic bags, of the type used to package and distribute methamphetamine, which were secreted inside a camera bag.

[¶ 12] On March 21, 2006, Cohen made a telephone call from the Natrona County Detention Center to a friend.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Christopher Gore v. The State of Wyoming
2019 WY 110 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2019)
OPERATION SAVE AMERICA v. City of Jackson
2012 WY 51 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2012)
SMALLFOOT v. State
2012 WY 39 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2012)
Gentilini v. State
2010 WY 74 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2010)
Budig v. State
2010 WY 1 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2010)
Johnson v. State
2009 WY 104 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2009)
VanKooten v. State
2009 WY 59 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2009)
RM v. Washakie County School District Number One
2004 WY 162 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2004)
Odhinn v. State
2003 WY 169 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 WY 78, 191 P.3d 956, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 83, 2008 WL 2715693, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cohen-v-state-wyo-2008.