VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The owner of Rainbow Cactus, a long-standing Virginia Beach nightlife establishment, was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation after shooting a customer in November 2023.
Alan Phillips admitted to shooting Serina Concepcion on Nov. 3, 2023, leaving her critically injured. Phillips has previously declined to comment when approached by reporters.
Watch previous coverage: Rainbow Cactus owner pleads guilty to shooting customer in Virginia Beach
Court records show that on the evening of Nov. 3, a fight broke out in the parking lot outside Rainbow Cactus. Officers heard gunfire coming from that direction.
According to documents, Concepcion was unarmed but approached Phillips in what he described as a threatening manner. Phillips admitted he fired his gun, injuring her, saying he "saw murder in her eyes," though the victim was not armed.
Watch previous coverage: Rainbow Cactus owner charged with shooting customer
Concepcion says the bullet entered her stomach and exited through her buttocks, and she still has fragments lodged in her leg. She now walks with the assistance of a walker and was not present in court for the plea hearing Tuesday.
"People need to see my gunshot, people need to see what's happened," Concepcion said in an exclusive interview. "The bullet went in my stomach."
According to Shemeka Hankins, Phillips' attorney, and testimony from a VBPD detective, there is no question about whether Phillips shot Concepcion. The circumstances of what led to the shooting is being debated in the court case.
Watch previous coverage: Rainbow Cactus owner charged with shooting customer
Court records also show Phillips was charged with assaulting James William Ross at Rainbow Cactus a decade ago in 2014, but online court records reveal Phillips was found not guilty.
According to a criminal complaint in that case, Ross said Phillips and a security guard at the venue “slammed me to the ground” and “put their knees on my back.” Ross continued in the complaint, “they pulled my arms and put handcuffs around my wrist. Twenty minutes later I was released, and I went to the hospital.”
In the case of shooting Concepcion, Phillips was sentenced to three years with three years suspended, with three years of unsupervised probation.
