A 19-year-old Chula Vista man was sentenced May 9 to one year in jail for firing a stolen gun on the street after he stole some beer from a Walgreens store in Chula Vista.
His parents along with 30 supporters of Cristian Nokolas Olmos were in the audience to hear the sentencing from Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney, who ordered Olmos to repay $18 to the Walgreens store in Chula Vista for the stolen beer.
Olmos had been free on $120,000 bond, but he surrendered May 9 to begin his sentence in the central jail in downtown San Diego. The sheriff’s department said his projected release date is Nov. 6. He was fined approximately $1,400.
Devaney ordered Olmos not to drink alcohol for three years while on probation and to stay away from Walgreens. His attorney, Gretchen von Helms, showed the judge documents that verified he had been in drug treatment while he was out on bond.
Deputy District Attorney James Fontaine said no one was injured in the Oct. 13, 2017 incident at 8:18 a.m. and it was unclear if the single shot was aimed at anyone. Olmos had left the Walgreens with an 18-pack and 12-pack of beer without paying for it, and Walgreens workers followed Olmos outside the store.
Olmos set down the beer, fired a shot, and then fled into a nearby apartment complex. Chula Vista Police arrested him later that morning and seized the firearm which had been taken in a residential burglary in Chula Vista.
Fontaine said Olmos was high at the time with a combination of a tranquilizer, marijuana, and alcohol. He initially pleaded guilty to robbery, with the projected prison term of 5-7 years.
However, Fontaine said the offense was not a robbery, and he was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea.
Olmos then pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, which meant he could receive probation.
The judge received at least 100 letters in support of Olmos who has a supportive family, said Fontaine. He had no prior record and he seemed to be sincere and motivated to succeed on a host of probation conditions, said the prosecutor. He received credits for two days previously spent in jail.
