19-Year-Old admits BB gun attack on 70-year-old Palm Springs bus rider

A 19-year-old who joined a friend in shooting a 70-year-old with a BB gun at a Palm Springs bus stop pleaded guilty today to assault resulting in great bodily injury and was immediately sentenced to four months in jail and two years probation.

Christian Vitto-McVay of Modesto admitted the felony charge under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

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.