ONE IN JAIL AFTER A BLOODY FIGHT OVER HIGH ELECTRICITY BILLS

An argument over a high electricity bill led to a bloody fight and one man in jail Saturday. According to a Sheriff’s report, deputies were called to the 60200 block of Mirada Trail in Joshua Tree about 8:12 p.m. for an assault. The victim told deputies that he asked his tenant, Bruce Peterson, 45, to turn down the heat because of exorbitant electricity bills. He said Peterson struck him in the face several times, grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. While on the ground, Peterson allegedly struck the man several more times in the face, and then grabbed a clay ashtray and struck the victim over the head with it, causing the man to lose consciousness. After an investigation, Bruce Peterson was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, booked at the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at $50,000.