19-year-old who shot Cathedral City man receives 25-year prison sentence

A 19-year-old felon who shot a man during a confrontation in Cathedral City was bound for state prison today to begin serving a 25-year sentence.

Anthony Colon of Thousand Palms pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder, firearm assault, being a felon in possession of a gun and sentence-enhancing gun, and great bodily injury allegations for the 2021 shooting.

In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office dropped several related allegations.  

Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling at the Larson Justice Center in Indio certified the terms of the plea agreement and immediately imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to Cathedral City police, the attack happened on the afternoon of Jan. 28, 2021, in the 31000 block of Shifting Sands Trail, near Ramon Road.

Investigators said Colon was involved in an unspecified dispute with the victim, identified only as a Cathedral City man, culminating in the defendant pulling a semiautomatic handgun and shooting the man.

The victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound from which he has since recovered.

Colon fled the location immediately after the shooting, but detectives eventually developed leads pointing to him as the assailant, according to police.

He was arrested without incident at his home on Monte Vista Way less than a week later.

Information on his prior convictions was not listed in court records.