18-year-old charged with shooting relative, trying to kill another in Banning

An 18-year-old probationer accused of shooting a family member and trying to kill another during a domestic squabble in Banning was charged today with attempted murder and other offenses.

Alex Signavong was arrested Saturday following the attack at a residence in the 1300 block of North Almond Way, near East Theodore Street. Along with attempted murder, Signavong is charged with two counts of assault with a firearm and one count each of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun and illegal possession of machine gun parts, with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Sept. 24 at the Banning Justice Center and ordered him held in lieu of $1 million bail at the
nearby Smith Correctional Facility.

According to Banning police, about 11 p.m. Friday, Signavong was involved in an unspecified verbal altercation with several relatives that escalated into a physical confrontation.

The defendant allegedly 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 the defendant without incident. The woman was taken to San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning. She's expected to fully recover.

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.

Signavong and witnesses were questioned for several hours before he was formally arrested and taken to jail.

According to court documents, the defendant has a prior drug-related conviction from earlier this year.