Jury finds veteran guilty of reduced charge in McDonald's shooting

Justin Phongsavanh was not happy that the man who shot and paralyzed him last year was spared an attempted murder charge Friday.

"If you shoot two people, multiple times, then your intent is to kill," said Phongsavanh.

Phongsavanh is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life after Gabriel John Coco, 37, fired upon him and his friend, Nikolas Culver, in a McDonald's parking lot on Oct. 24, 2015. Coco faced a maximum of 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, but the jury settled on a lesser charge Friday of assault with intent to inflict serious injury, a Class D felony, which carries a penalty maximum of 5 years in prison.

Timothy McCarthy, Coco's defense attorney, called the two charge reductions a "huge victory."

"I think it's a sad day for veterans. We clearly demonstrated (Coco's) suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I think the jury saw some of that but not the entire picture," McCarthy said.

The teens testified Culver, 18, was intentionally throwing a fake tantrum in the McDonald's the night of the incident. He swore at a worker behind the counter and threw a hamburger on the ground because it had pickles on it that he did not order. Phongsavanh filmed his friend on his cell phone camera so the two could upload it afterward to social media, according to their testimony.

Phongsavanh, 19, told jurors that Coco approached the two in the parking lot as they prepared to drive away. Coco had his handgun and asked the friends, "You think that was (expletive) funny" before striking Culver in the forehead with the handgun, Phongsavanh said.

Phongsavanh was shot in the right arm while he was trying to get information from Coco's license plates. The bullet became lodged in his spine and surgeons were unable to remove it, he said. Culver was also struck by a bullet fragment that ricocheted during the shooting and said he suffers from permanent psychological injuries.

Attorney argues PTSD led to shooting that paralyzed man

McCarthy argued Coco's outburst of violence was the result of his ongoing struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Coco believed he was acting in self-defense when he fired the shots, Coco said.

Coco is a U.S. Army Veteran who served as a tank driver and a gunner on the roof of Humvees, McCarthy argued in court. His client survived at least three blasts from improvised explosive devices and a traumatic brain injury during his tours in Iraq.

"I have no doubt that he's probably seen stuff that might have affected him psychologically, but it does not justify his actions of what he did that night," Phongsavanh said after Friday's hearing.

Polk County Sheriff's deputies handcuffed Coco, who walked silently from the courtroom after Judge Jeanie Kunkle Vaudt read the verdict.

In all, Coco was found guilty of assault with intent to inflict serious injury, a lesser offense; assault causing bodily injury, a lesser offense; willful injury causing serious injury and going armed with intent. His sentencing hearing had been set for Dec. 16. at 8:30 a.m.