9 CHARGES FILED AGAINST YUCCA VALLEY MAN FOR LANDERS ASSAULT

The District Attorney filed nine charges last week against a Yucca Valley man, stemming from an assault in Landers in March. According to a Sheriff’s report, Ronnie James Salazar, 27, was kicked out of his ex-girlfriend’s home in the 57600 block of Mariquita Road on in mid March. The report states that Salazar returned four days later, about 8:30 p.m. on March 21, to the home where his ex-girlfriend is a caretaker for an elderly patient. Salazar is accused of kicking in the door, entering the home without permission and then punching his girlfriend in the face with a closed fist, before his girlfriend chased him out of the home. Sheriff officials say Salazar grabbed a shovel and re-entered the home, and threatened his ex-girlfriend, but her elderly patient grabbed the shovel, and Salazar then fled. According to investigators, Salazar returned about 2 a.m. and stole the elderly woman’s 1990 Subaru. The District Attorney has filed charges of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon with gross bodily injuries, three counts of elder abuse, vehicle theft, vandalism, and two charges of witness tampering. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ronnie James Salazar should call the Sheriff’s Department at 760-366-4175.