ANOTHER PLEA DEAL

◼ INITIALLY CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER, PLEADS no contest to assault with a firearm. Coen gets 21 years in prison
Coen was apprehended during a multi-agency manhunt July 2 -- about 11 hours after Coen donned a bullet-proof vest and a wig, sneaked into the home of Christopher “Shane” Cooper on the 3400 block of Hillras Way in Fortuna and shot him once in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun while Cooper lay in bed.

The Fortuna Police Department was already searching for Coen, who at the time was wanted for a parole violation stemming from an assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm conviction in 2009.

Initially charged with attempted murder, Coen pleaded no contest to a charge of assault with a firearm with special allegations and enhancements that he has served a prior prison term, used a firearm during the offense and that he inflicted great bodily injury in committing the crime. Under the agreement, Coen faced a prison sentence of between 10 years and 21 years.

Coen's attorney, David Lee, argued that the lesser sentence was appropriate due to a “peculiarity” in the law that allowed Coen to be convicted of both assault with a firearmand a special allegation that a firearm was used in the offense. Lee argued Coen was recently married and now feels he has something to live for.