Suspect charged in killing of man found outside Petaluma

An Arizona man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a man found along Stage Gulch Road near Petaluma on Sunday.

Paul Elliot Coilton appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court on Wednesday, where prosecutors also charged him with shooting at a vehicle and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Each charge carries additional penalties based on the 59-year-old Salome resident's criminal history and prior convictions.

Court records show previous convictions for a December 1983 robbery in San Francisco and an assault with a firearm in Stockton in February 1991.

Coilton was sentenced to three years in prison for robbery and nine years in prison for assault.

On Wednesday, he appeared before Sonoma County Judge Laura Passaglia, who ordered him held without bail.

He has been assigned an attorney with the Sonoma County Public Defender's Office and is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 27 to enter a plea.

A criminal complaint identified the victim as Steven Edward Lopez, but did not provide his age or residence.

Four of Coilton's friends and family attended Wednesday's hearing but declined to comment afterward.

Coilton has been in custody at the Sonoma County Jail since his arrest early Monday in San Jose.

Sonoma County sheriff's officers responded Sunday afternoon to the 5000 block of Lakeville Highway, near the intersection with Stage Gulch Road, where they found a deceased man and nearby shell casings, officials said.

The circumstances of the shooting were not disclosed, including the relationship between Coilton and Lopez or how the defendant got to San Jose.

The sheriff's office initially reported that Coilton was accused of, among other things, car theft. Instead, prosecutors opted to add the drive-by shooting charge instead.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone who may have information about the case to call the agency at 707-565-2121.

Reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi