Sentencing is set for Jan. 6 for a Chula Vista man whom a jury convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his roommate who was found in a floating barrel in San Diego Bay.
After four days of deliberations, the 10 man, two woman jury convicted Timothy John Cook, 54, in the slaying of his roommate, Omar Medina, 28, who was last seen alive on Sept. 30, 2017.
The same jury deadlocked 10-2 for Cook’s friend, Derrick Spurgeon, 40, as to whether he acted as an accessory to murder after the fact. Spurgeon may have to face a second trial.
Cook faces a prison term of 15 years to life in prison when San Diego Superior Court Judge Carolyn Caietti sentences him.
Deputy District Attorney Cherie Somerville asked jurors to convict Cook of murder and Spurgeon whom she said tried “to help his friend get away with murder.”
Witnesses testified there was animosity between Cook and his roommate in a Chula Vista house in the 500 block of McIntosh Street. Medina was found in the 55-gallon barrel on Oct. 12, 2017, after two boaters reported seeing it as a navigational hazard.
Cook’s attorney, Kara Oien, conceded that Cook found Medina’s body and put it in the barrel, but she said he didn’t know who killed him.
Medina had been stabbed 66 times, according to the county medical examiner. The walls in Medina’s room were removed in a remodel, Cook told police. The floor was also removed and the kitchen sink was missing.
The trial began Nov. 5 and lasted a month.
Jurors began deliberations Nov. 26 and then recessed for Thanksgiving. They deliberated four more days before saying they deadlocked on Spurgeon, but convicted Cook on Dec. 5.
Spurgeon’s attorney, Roland Haddad, argued for acquittal, saying there was no evidence that Spurgeon knew there was a body in the barrel. The boat was stored on Spurgeon’s property in El Cajon, and traffic surveillance cameras showed both Spurgeon and Cook towing the boat with the white barrel to the bay.
Somerville argued that Spurgeon knew what was in the barrel and offered “to help his friend get away with murder.” She couldn’t be reached for comment after the verdict.
Spurgeon didn’t testify and both he and Cook remain in jail. Spurgeon is awaiting another trial in 2020 on charges he assaulted an East County resident.
