BLOOMINGTON — Victor Pilot-Colman will serve more than 19 years behind bars after pleading guilty to committing a drive-thru shooting that injured a 21-year-old.
Pilot-Coleman pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, on June 12, 2023.
He was arrested when Bloomington police were called to Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers located in the 3400 block of West 3rd Street on Sept. 7, 2021, after receiving a 911 call reporting a shooting at 5:30 p.m.
According to police a 21-year-old man and another person were in a car in the drive-thru at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers when 21-year-old Victor Coleman-Pilot walked up to their car.
Both men inside the car saw Coleman-Pilot and got out of the car, and ran. The victim ran south in the parking lot as Coleman-Pilot chased him shooting.
Police say the victim was shot “multiple times”.
The acquaintance then climbed into the driver’s seat of the victim’s vehicle and began chasing Pilot-Coleman through the parking lot, eventually striking Pilot-Coleman with the vehicle. This caused Pilot-Coleman to drop the handgun that he had been firing.
Pilot-Coleman ran towards Joann Fabric and Crafts while the acquaintance picked up the handgun and fired at Pilot-Coleman. He was not injured.
The acquaintance then drove the victim’s vehicle to where the victim had collapsed in the parking lot and loaded the victim into the backseat.
As the acquaintance drove away, he called 911 and met officers and ambulance personnel at a residence in the 100 block of South Curry Pike.
The victim was then transported by ambulance to IU Health Bloomington Hospital where he was taken to emergency surgery.
Police found Coleman-Pilot in a dumpster behind a strip mall in the 3400 block of West 3rd Street.
It should be noted that officers had Pilot-Coleman in custody within nine minutes of the first 911 call being received by Central Emergency Dispatch.
He was arrested without incident on preliminary charges of attempted murder, criminal recklessness, possession of a firearm by a violent felon, a felon carrying a handgun with a prior felony conviction, and pointing a firearm.
Pilot-Coleman was set to go to trial in late June but ended up accepting a plea agreement. He agreed to plead guilty to attempted murder, a Level 1 felony. All the other charges were dropped by the state in exchange for his guilty plea. He was sentenced to 7,280 days at the Indiana Department of Corrections. He was given credit for 733 days served.
