A Tamarack, Calif., man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday for attempted murder in an Aug. 2 shootout with his estranged girlfriend in Bear Valley.
John Courtney Cole pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced by Alpine County Superior Court Judge Dave DeVore to prison.
Cole was arrested after being taken to the hospital when he arrived at the woman's home on Lombardi in the West Alpine County resort town.
The victim was also armed and in the exchange of gunfire both were injured.
"His injuries proved more serious," according to a statement issued by Alpine County District Attorney William A. Richmond. "The alert defensive measures by his intended victim thwarted whatever intentions he harbored, and may have saved him from a death penalty outcome to his plans. The incident was an uncharacteristic breach of the peace that prevails in this Sierra Nevada county, where a courageous victim is now picking up the pieces of a life thankfully saved by her own survival instincts."
