A 25-year-old military veteran who tried to fire a loaded gun in downtown San Mateo last year has been sentenced to six days in county jail, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said this week.
Ashley Andaluz Viola, of San Pablo, was sentenced Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Viola was given six days in county jail with given credit for time served. A judge also placed Viola on two years of probation and ordered him to serve 200 hours of public service work.
On June 22, 2011, Viola was carrying a loaded semi-automatic handgun in downtown San Mateo when he saw a man either push or bump a woman, prosecutors said.
Viola took out the gun and pointed it at the man, and pulled the trigger several times, according to prosecutors.
The gun, however, did not fire since there were no rounds in the chamber, although there were numerous rounds in the gun magazine.
Police were called and Viola still had the weapon out when officers arrived, but he did not point the gun at the officers.
Viola was taken into custody and initially pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Witnesses told Patch they were shaken by the armed confrontation.
Viola had argued he was merely acting as a Good Samaritan, and was out of custody on a $50,000 bail bond during the court proceedings.
According to police, Viola did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
He is a military veteran and has no known criminal record in San Mateo County.
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