Man shot with paintball gun. What he did to get deputies’ attention got him arrested

A man who was the victim of a paintball gun attack in Waterford allegedly chose to get the attention of authorities by lighting a trash bin on fire.

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Monday at a shopping center at the intersection of Yosemite Boulevard and Western Avenue.

According to his statements to Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies, the man was near a laundromat when a group of teenagers in a brown sedan shot him with what he believed to be a pellet gun, said Sgt. Josh Clayton.

He said the man went to a nearby Taco Bell and began yelling at people to call 911 but no one did. So he got a piece of cardboard, lit it on fire and put it in the trash bin at Little Caesars, Clayton said.

He told deputies he did it because he knew they’d respond to a fire, the sergeant said.

Jeremy Scott Cooney, 40, was arrested on suspicion of arson.

Clayton said he had welts on his leg and paint on his pants consistent with being shot by a paintball gun.

This story was originally published July 9, 2019 at 10:42 AM.