It was a relatively packed courtroom on Wednesday, with extra law enforcement present for testimony and security, with one of the witnesses giving testimony is currently serving a two year sentence in county jail.
The first two witnesses were focused on establishing the ownership of the white Suzuki Quad that Pejman Elahi was reportedly riding before and after the alleged assault with a firearm that left a man with three gunshot wounds.
Deputy David Moore responded with air assistance in a helicopter during the the Sept. 25th incident, and testified that he was able to spot the suspect Pejman Elahi – who was described in that incident wearing a blue tanktop and white shorts – driving a white quad. The same quad was found in a makeshift carport on the property Elahi occupied with two other individuals: Gilbert Gonzalez and Elahi’s father Bijan Elahi.
Deputy Bill Abernathy took the stand and testified that he was part of the group of deputies assigned to serving the search warrant at the Pejman Elahi property, which he and other officers described as being located in the unincorporated area outside of Twentynine Palms known as Wonder Valley.
Gunshot victim’s testimony clashes with his initial statements
The main testimony of the day came from Gerald Jonas, the man who was shot three times in November. Jonas started off his testimony saying he doesn’t remember much about the specific day he was shot, stating he was under a lot of distress and had lost a lot of blood. His claim of only remembering waking up in the hospital clashes with testimony he gives later in the day, along with an initial statement given to a Deputy four days after he was admitted to Desert Regional Medical Center.
In court – Jonas appeared in an bright orange prison-issue jumpsuit as he is serving two years on an unrelated weapons charge.
Jonas admitted to few things during his testimony. The incident is reported to have started at Brianna Schan’s residence, however Jonas says he knows her by the name Brianna Ashley. He stated that Brianna was an ex-girlfriend of his but they have an open relationship and have been off and on for years. He couldn’t recall specifics about the day in question – where evidence shows Gerald Jonas visited Brianna’s house and met up with a man who he refers to as “Chuckie” in a recorded conversation.
“Chuckie” is a nickname that Pejman Elahi is known by. During his testimony, Gerald Jonas repeatedly iterated that he had no idea who “Chuckie” is, despite naming him multiple times to different officers.
When asked about the man who shot him, Jonas says that he doesn’t know anything about him other than he showed up at Brianna’s residence and got in “a competition ” with the man, which resulted in both men riding to a nearby field to fight. He claims the other person was in full riding gear – including a helmet and goggles, and it made it mpossible to identify the person.
At one point, Jonas held his hands up to his face making goggles out of his hands, saying the only thing he could see was the man’s brown eyes. He repeated stated that if anyone put on a motorcycle helmet, that they would look like the person who did it.
“I use a lot of methamphetamine”
As testimony continued, Jonas appeared more agitated and swiveled in the witness chair and he was pressed on details of the day that didn’t match up with earlier statements given. When asked by Razook if he wanted to be there, the witness plainly stated that he did not.
During defense cross-examination, Jonas says he doesn’t recognize Pejman Elahi, despite the court hearing a recording of Jonas speaking to a detective and picking Elahi’s mugshot out of a lineup of 6 photos – even saying it was a “100” on a scale of how sure he was.
When prosecution asked him about his memories from that day, Jonas plainly stated that he “uses a lot of methamphetamine” and later told defense that he sleeps “like 3 times a month.” Testimony from last week stated that Jonas had methamphetamine and THC in his blood at the time of his hospital intake.
“I remember bits and pieces and I’m giving you all of them.” he said to defense attorney John-Paul Serrao during cross-examination.
However, the one thing he seemed sure of was the fact that Pejman Elahi was a stranger to him, with Jonas stating “I have a lot of problems with a lot of people, but he’s not one of them.”
Most if not all of Jonas’ testimony was challenged by a recording played by Detective Aaron Halloway, who interviewed Jonas at the Palm Springs hospital he was taken to after the shooting. In those three recordings, which were played for the court, Jonas clearly remembers details, locations and identities.
Before wrapping for the day, the Jury reviewed footage from a neighboring ring camera that showed Jonas limping through the neighboring area and repeatedly yelling “help me, I’ve been shot!”
The jury also heard from detectives who responded to the shooting, executed on the search warrant and investigated the field where the shooting took place.
The trial continues next week and is planned to last until May 5th.
We will be running a full recap of the trial to date, along with the details of the incidents that lead to this trial – watch for that on our website.
Previously Reported:
