Pittsburg, California— September 17, 2015—After two hours of deliberations, the jury of four women and eight men found twenty-seven year old Lamar S. Cooper of Berkeley, California not guilty of battery on a co-parent causing injury, simply battery on a co-parent, simple battery, simple assault and vandalism causing $400 or more in damage.  Contra Costa Deputy District Attorney Courtney Dyer alleged Mr. Cooper broke through a door and stormed into an Antioch home where the mother of his children was sleeping off a night of partying and had failed to return home to care for the couple’s two one year old children so he could attend an important appointment.  The complaining party said he “socked her in her nose” and ran out.  While the complaining party’s friends initially told police they saw the incident, they later admitted to the defense and the prosecution prior to trial that they lied to police in order to support their friend.  Defense attorney, Qiana Washington, learned from police documents that the witnesses had four pages worth of incidents going back several years in which they regularly called the police due to violent fighting within the home.  She compared the group to the “Real Housewives” franchise and said the case should be called the “Real Housewives of Antioch.”  The prosecution only called one out of three of the “eye witnesses” and presented a brief 911 recording in support of her case.  Toward the end of the case, Superior Court Judge Judy Johnson told Dyer, “This case is a dog” and said she was seriously considering dismissing it due to the credibility issues with the witnesses.  Dyer argued her case was strong and objected to the dismissal.  Ultimately, the jury was forced to do what the Deputy District Attorney and the court declined to do—reject the allegations.  Washington says, “We are grateful the jury did the right thing and saw through these baseless allegations.  As for the complaining witness and her pose, perhaps they have a future in television.”