Fundraising often kicks into high gear in the wake of tragedy. The dead need burial. The living need help.
And so it was in the wake of the Cook’s Corner massacre on a warm, pleasant $8 spaghetti night, Aug. 23, 2023.
A review of the public-facing fundraising efforts shows that, a year on, nearly a quarter-million dollars has been collected for victims and their survivors. That doesn’t count all donations given via private fundraisers. Folks at the iconic biker bar said donations were divvied up for victims, but declined to provide detail.
The largest chunk of public-facing fundraising came on behalf of the late Tonya Clark’s teenage son, Landon, at almost $84,000. Clark, a single mom, had just moved back to Orange County from Scottsdale and was celebrating her birthday when gunman John Patrick Snowling walked straight up to his estranged wife, Marie, and shot her in the face without saying a word. Apparently unsatisfied, he continued spraying bullets at others as well.
Killed along with Clark were Glen Sprowl Jr., 53, of Stanton and John Leehey, 67, of Irvine.
Sprowl Jr. called himself a “contraptionist,” someone who could build or make anything. He sprang to action as Snowling fired, running outside to retrieve firearms from his truck and confront the shooter. Snowling shot him as he approached. Sprowl Jr. left behind three children, the oldest just 19 at the time. His GoFundMe nearly hit $34,000.
John Leehey was an accomplished urban planner who loved golf, playing guitar “and bluffing his way into a winning hand in Texas Hold’em,” friends said on his GoFundMe page. “But what John loved above all else were his three sons: Johnny, Ryan, and Brandon.” The goal was to raise $10,000 for the young men; the total stands at more than $39,000.
Support was solid for the injured as well.
Michael Bertuccini was outside, helping a friend fix a taillight on his bike, when they heard what they thought were firecrackers. Bertuccini felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He pushed his friend into a nearby ditch and collapsed into it himself. Blood poured from the side of Bertuccini’s chest and it was nearly impossible to breathe; the bullet had collapsed his lung. His friend dragged him through mud to a spot where they could take cover, then applied pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. They remained there for what felt like a lifetime.
Once sheriff’s deputies arrived and the shooter was dead, Bertuccini was rushed to the hospital. After surgery, his first words were about the welfare of his two sons, friends said on his GoFundMe page. Bertuccini asked that the campaign be closed in November, saying he wanted to look forward and not live in the past. The campaign raised $26,000.
Tomas De la Rosa was on cooking duty that night and took a bullet to the arm. He required surgery. The $15,000 goal set for him was quickly reached. “I want to thank the people who helped me on my Go Fund Me page,” a post from him said. “God bless you all and may God double what you donated. I am very thankful I am cared by a lot of people who helped me through this challenging time.”
Server Savannah Hopkins was five months pregnant when she came face to face with the shooter. She told him she was going to have a baby. He told her to run. Her truck was shot up in the crossfire, and a GoFundMe raised almost $8,000. Elite Automotive of Lake Forest restored the 2011 Ford F-150 for free.
Marie Snowling was a regular at $8 spaghetti night. She and Snowling were divorcing when he shot her in the jaw. He was a former Ventura police officer, a crazy husband who couldn’t deal with the divorce, a family member said. She survived but has required extensive treatment. A GoFundMe for her raised more than $8,000.
The M Street band was on stage inside, playing Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” when the shooting began. Fish in a barrel, they said. Bass player Dave Stretch was hit in the hip. Guitarist Ed Means, in the arm. Less than two weeks later, the band was back on stage, playing a benefit concert for Cook’s Corner victims in Huntington Beach. The tip jar gathered about $8,500 that was doled out to the various GoFundMe pages, and thousands more were directed to those pages at the band’s urging the day of the concert, said Mark Johnson. A Cook’s Corner tab on the band’s website still includes links to fundraisers for several victims.
A “Cook’s Corner Strong Auction” raised more than $14,000 of a $15,000 goal.
Some continue to struggle. Nancy Hughes was at Cook’s Corner that dreadful night. She escaped, but her 2003 Ford Taurus was caught in the crossfire — windshield and windows shattered, tire flat, bullet holes in its body. She did not have comprehensive auto insurance coverage.
A repair shop did the work at a discount, but her mom paid nearly $2,000 to get the car up and running again. It took more than a month. Hayes said she didn’t get cash assistance from any fundraisers; her claim to the county was denied; and the California Victims Compensation Board, the state agency that’s “the payor of last resort” for victims of violent crime, only grants money “after all available reimbursement and recovery sources are used, including medical insurance, disability insurance, employer benefits and civil suits.”
She said she’s in treatment for trauma and PTSD. The M Street Band’s Johnson noted that, “though headlines fade quickly, the distress emanating from these tragedies painfully reverberates forever in the hearts of those who have fallen victim.”
