Police Blotter: Pedestrian Pelleted

A 43-year-old resident reported being shot with a pellet gun as he walked with a female friend from the 12th Street parking structure toward the Metlox courtyard around 10pm on Thursday, March 18. Feeling a sharp pain on his upper right thigh, he told the woman, "Somebody shot me," according to police.

The man turned and looked west toward a narrow walkway to see who may have shot him, catching sight of two women standing at the top of the parking structure eyeing him and his friend. One of the women "ducked into a vehicle" parked on the northeast corner of the top level, according to a police report. After the man who had been shot ran up to the top level to approach the women, he saw one of them standing near a parked silver Toyota Yaris.

"Did you see anyone with a pellet gun?" he asked, though the woman (later identified as Tiffany Romano, 19, of Ontario, CA) did not respond. Then, the second woman (later identified as Dianna Coe, 20, of Redondo Beach) got out of the car with her right hand behind her back and "appeared to be hiding something," according to the report. The man repeated his question about seeing anyone with a pellet gun.

"Yeah, me," Coe allegedly replied.

"Did you shoot me?" asked the man, who reported that Coe said she did with a laugh and that she then revealed she was holding an air-powered rifle.

The man said he did not think it was funny and was going to call the police. The women—one turning to the other, saying, "Let's go"—then got into the car and the driver began backing up, according to the victim's account. The man—on the phone with police—blocked the car by standing behind it and slapping the trunk with his hand, meanwhile reading the license plate number to the police dispatcher. The driver allegedly made several forward and reverse maneuvers until the car's path was unobstructed and she was able to flee the scene.

Using the license plate number, police determined the address of the car's registered owners and drove to a home in Redondo Beach. A girl outside the house is reported to have said the Yaris belonged to her parents and that her sister Dianna "should be in it." The parents then came outside and were informed of the situation.

At about 10:43pm, Dianna Coe and Tiffany Romano arrived at the Coe residence and, according to police, acknowledged the prior confrontation with the Manhattan Beach resident.

Questioned separately, the women reportedly said that while at a Manhattan Beach parking structure earlier in the evening, Romano was "playing" with an airsoft handgun owned by Coe. Police said they claimed Romano accidentally shot a man. When confronted by the man, the pair said they got scared because he was angry, and they chose to flee.

Police retrieved a plastic replica 9mm airsoft handgun from the Yaris. However, the man who was shot had told police he saw Coe attempting to conceal an air rifle behind her back in the parking structure.

Airsoft guns use plastic pellets that shoot at less than 700 feet per second, which is generally considered safe when used in a controlled environment. BB or pellet guns use metal ammunition and shoot at higher velocities.

When police asked Coe and Romano where the air rifle was, they both initially denied there was one involved, said the report. Coe's father then reportedly told the young women to "tell the truth."

The report indicates that Coe acknowledged that she drove to a male friend's house in Hermosa Beach after the incident and hid the rifle there. Police later retrieved a rifle—along with a black Puma brand bag containing a box of pellets and women's underwear—from the backyard of the friend's home.

The Manhattan Beach resident and a female companion positively identified Coe and Romano at the Coe residence. The man's injury consisted of a small puncture wound on his thigh. He told police he did not require medical attention, but that he wanted to press charges.

Both young women were arrested and taken to the Manhattan Beach Police Department jail. A $30,000 bond was posted for each. Their cases will now go before the district attorney's office, which will determine whether charges are filed.

Manhattan Beach Police Officer Stephanie Martin said Coe and Romano are old enough to know better, claims of "accidental play" notwithstanding.

"They're certainly not children," she said. "Assuming their age, they should have the ability to know that their actions could hurt someone."