A 19-year-old tourist who joined a friend in the random shooting of an innocent 70-year-old with a BB gun at a Palm Springs bus stop will be starting a four-month jail sentence after the teen pleaded guilty to assault resulting in great bodily injury.
Christian Vitto-McVay of Modesto admitted the felony charge under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. He was also sentenced to two years of probation after he finishes his jail term.
Superior Court Judge James Hawkins certified the terms of the agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense. In addition to the jail term and probation, Hawkins ordered Vitto-McVay to pay $120 in victim restitution.
His co-defendant, 26-year-old Larry Bradford Williams of Stockton, is free on his own recognizance and is due to be arraigned for assault on July 29 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
According to the Palm Springs Police Department, the drive-by attack occurred about 6:50 p.m. on March 30 in the 1000 block of East Palm Canyon Drive.
Witnesses said that shots were fired from a white Ford Crown Victoria, which police spotted in the area that night and pulled over. Officers detained Vitto-McVay and Williams, then searched the Ford, locating a rifle and handgun in the back seat.
Both weapons were confirmed to be BB guns, police said. The men were arrested.
“The investigation revealed these individuals were visiting Palm Springs and decided to attack a member of our community,” according to a PSPD statement.
The victim, identified in court documents only by the initials “S.S.,” was treated at the scene but did not require hospitalization.
Vitto-McVay had no prior documented felony convictions.