Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 07/30/07

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards- 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

GUILTY PLEA AND 31 YEAR PRISON TERM FOR MENDOCINO AVENUE SHOOTING

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that Myriss Jon Winston, 26, pled guilty to attempted second degree murder before the Honorable Raima Ballinger in Sonoma County Superior Court. Winston also admitted sentencing enhancements alleging that he inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, that he personally used a firearm, and that he had previously been convicted of a strike offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced to a stipulated term of 31 years in state prison on September 19, 2007.

District Attorney Passalacqua said, "This crime was a senseless act of extreme violence on the roadways. The stipulated 31 year prison term is appropriate for this heinous crime and consistent with the victim’s wishes that she not have to testify at trial."

On May 20, 2005, the victim, a nineteen year old female, was at a coffee kiosk in her vehicle on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa when she was verbally accosted by the occupants of another vehicle. Defendant Winston was the front passenger in the other vehicle, which was driven by co-defendant Scarioni. The defendant’s brother, Murphy Winston, was seated in the back. After leaving the kiosk, Scarioni’s car followed the victim down Mendocino Avenue. Scarioni followed the victim’s vehicle for about fifteen minutes throughout Santa Rosa and at one point she threw a 40 ounce beer bottle at the victim’s vehicle. At the intersection of Mendocino and Mooreland Avenue, the defendant told Scarioni to pass the victim’s vehicle. While Scarioni was driving into the oncoming traffic lane, Winston shot into the victim’s vehicle with a .38 caliber pistol and struck the victim in the head, causing her to loose control of her vehicle. The defendant and his brother fled from Scarioni’s vehicle in the area of Scenic Avenue, but were apprehended by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of local residents. The defendant was found in possession of the firearm used in the shooting. The victim suffered a fractured skull and underwent surgery to remove bone fragments and foreign material from her brain cavity.

Winston’s prior strike offense was a 2003 domestic violence conviction in Napa County that also involved an enhancement for causing great bodily injury. Co-defendant Scarioni has previously entered a felony plea to shooting from a vehicle and is pending sentencing.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Jamar was the prosecutor assigned to the case and was assisted by District Attorney Investigator Kim Dayton and Victim Advocate Miriam Gaon. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sergeants Carlos Basurto, Dave Pedersen and Clint Shubel were the lead detectives on this successful investigation.