An 19-year-old probationer who shot a family member and targeted another one during a domestic squabble in Banning pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted voluntary manslaughter and other charges and was immediately sentenced to 17 years, eight months in state prison.
Alex Signavong admitted the attempted manslaughter count, as well as firearm assault, possession of an illegally manufactured gun and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the September 2021 attack.
In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office dropped four related charges.
Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton certified the terms of the plea agreement, which was reached just as Signavong’s case was called for a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center. Singerton imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
According to Banning police, about 11 p.m. last Sept. 10, Signavong was involved in an unspecified argument with several relatives that escalated into a fight at a house in the 1300 block of North Almond Way, near East Theodore Street.
Signavong pulled a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire, wounding a 54-year-old woman, identified in court documents by the initials “P.V.,” as well as targeting a man, identified only as “R.V.,” who was not struck by the gunfire.
Patrol officers converged on the location minutes later and detained Signavong without incident. The woman was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of her wound, from which she fully recovered.
No one else was injured.
“Detectives and officers were able to locate the firearm believed to have been used in the crime and several other items, including parts to convert the weapon into a fully automatic weapon,” according to a police statement.
Court documents show the defendant has a prior drug-related conviction.