A 25-year-old Preston man pleaded no contest today in Superior Court to firing a gun and pistol-whipping a man in downtown New London last year after he mistakenly accused the victim of stealing his pickup truck.

Dillon T. Herman will be sentenced in July to up to 18 months in prison for attempted second-degree assault and third-degree assault. Meanwhile, he was released from prison to a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, where he is to stay until his sentencing date.

The incident occurred in an alley off Bank Street at about 3 a.m. on April 24, 2012.

The victim, who was not identified in a police report of the incident, suffered a bruise to the side of the face and scrape marks from numerous falls on the ground, according to the report. The man told police Herman had been asking him for marijuana and said Herman fired a bullet that he heard whiz by his head.

Herman, who had been drinking, claimed that it was the victim who had repeatedly asked Herman for marijuana.

The victim said that after he fell, Herman stood over him, hit him on the left side of the face with the gun and pointed the gun at his head.

Police said the victim had blood on his hands and face and was screaming “He shot me!” when they arrived. Herman was standing over him about 3 feet away and said the man had stolen his truck. The truck was found later, untouched, police said.

Herman also has a pending drunken driving case that will be resolved at his sentencing, according to court officials.