State v. Cook

── State v. Cook ── Case No.: 1 CA-CR 24-0662 PRPC Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: March 16, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE STATE OF ARIZONA, Respondent, v. SEANTAIN LEROY COOK, Petitioner. No. 1 CA-CR 24-0662 PRPC FILED 03-16-2026 Petition for Review from the Superior Court in Maricopa County Nos. CR2021-002141-001 CR2021-001928-001 CR2021-001949-001 The Honorable Laura Johnson Giaquinto, Commissioner REVIEW GRANTED; RELIEF DENIED COUNSEL Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Phoenix By Philip D. Garrow Counsel for Respondent Seantain Leroy Cook, Buckeye Petitioner  STATE v. COOK Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Presiding Judge Michael S. Catlett delivered the decision of the Court, in which Judge Angela K. Paton and Judge Jennifer M. Perkins joined. C A T L E T T, Judge: ¶1 Seantain Leroy Cook (“Cook”) petitions for review from the superior court’s dismissal of his petitions for post-conviction relief (“PCRs”) filed under Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure (“Rules”) 32 and 33. Because the superior court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing Cook’s PCRs, we grant review but deny relief. We also deny Cook’s motions to modify his sentences. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 In 2021, the State charged Cook with aggravated DUI in three cases. In case one, a grand jury indicted Cook on two counts of aggravated DUI committed on November 15, 2020. In case two, a grand jury indicted Cook on two counts of aggravated DUI committed on January 16, 2021. In case three, a grand jury indicted Cook on two counts of aggravated DUI committed on March 6, 2021. Pretrial proceedings in all three cases largely overlapped. In March 2022, Cook pleaded guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor DUI in case one (“the plea case”). In April 2022, Cook was found guilty as charged after separate jury trials in cases two and three (“the trial cases”). The superior court sentenced Cook as a category 3 repetitive offender to concurrent terms of 12 years’ imprisonment in the trial cases. The court suspended sentence in the plea case and imposed three years’ probation, beginning upon Cook’s release from prison in the trial cases. ¶3 Cook filed delayed notices of appeal in the trial cases. This court affirmed the convictions but remanded for resentencing because the superior court imposed greater-than-presumptive terms without findings to support aggravation. State v. Cook, 2025 WL 2083128, at *3 ¶¶ 21–24 (Ariz. App. July 24, 2025) (mem. decision). The Arizona Supreme Court denied Cook’s petition for review, and the mandate issued on February 9, 2026. 2  STATE v. COOK Decision of the Court ¶4 Cook petitioned for post-conviction relief in the plea and trial cases before filing his delayed direct appeal. The petitions in the trial cases were identical and largely addressed the same issues as the petition in the plea case. The superior court summarily denied all three petitions in a single ruling. ¶5 Cook petitioned for review. We grant review under A.R.S. § 13-4239(G). DISCUSSION ¶6 Cook’s petition for review is mostly illegible and difficult to understand. Viewed together with his PCRs, and giving Cook the benefit of the doubt, we think he raises the following claims: (1) speedy trial v