A man was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal and stolen weapons after firing rounds into the open desert.
On Sunday night (April 7) at around 11:21 p.m., Sheriff’s deputies from the Morongo Basin Station responded to reports of shots heard in the area of the SCE substation, near Twentynine Palms Highway and Peterson Road in Twentynine Palms.
Deputies say they found several men firing weapons into the desert, in the direction of the highway. Deputies identified one of the men as Ramon Rocha, a 33-year-old resident of Yucca Valley and said that he was in possession of and shooting an illegal firearm. Deputies say they found several other weapons with the men, including three short-barreled assault rifles, two of which were unserialized.
Ramon was arrested at the scene. In a search of Rocha’s home in Yucca Valley, Deputies report seizing four additional firearms, one of which was found to be stolen, along with approximately 500 rounds of green tip rifle-caliber ammunition, which is designed to penetrate body armor.
Ramon Rocha was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, and possession of illegal weapons and booked into the West Valley Detention Center.
