JOSHUA TREE MAN WHO SHOT TWO PEOPLE ACCEPTS PLEA BARGAIN AGREEMENT

A Joshua Tree man accused of shooting two people in Yucca Valley in 2015 accepted a plea bargain earlier this month for assault with a firearm and other charges. On April 15, 2015, Joseph Rojas, 23, went to a home in the 55600 block of Pueblo Trail where he started arguing with one of the residents, Terry Hill. Rojas pulled out a gun and shot Hill, grazing his head about 9:20 a.m. As Rojas fled the property, he shot at Elaina Bixon, hitting her in the lower leg. Rojas then drove off in his white Mitsuibishi. About 12 hours later, at 9:30 p.m., deputies received a call of a crash at Warren Vista and Yucca Trail in which one of the vehicles matched the description of Rojas’s car. Witnesses reported the driver of the Mitsubishi had a gun. Joseph Rojas was arrested for attempted murder and has been held in jail on bail of $1.25 million dollars. On October 5, Rojas accepted a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a firearm on a person, using a firearm and causing gross bodily injury, and two counts of shooting at an inhabited building or vehicle. Joseph Rojas is scheduled to be sentenced November 8.