Joshua Tree man arrested for attempted murder

A 20-year-old man from Joshua Tree was arrested Wednesday morning for attempted murder after allegedly shooting a man and a woman.

Morongo Basin sheriff’s deputies arrested Joseph Rojas at about 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Yucca Trail and Warren Vista Avenue in Yucca Valley after he crashed his car.

Deputies were looking for Rojas after the shooting was reported in the 55600 block of Pueblo Trail around 9:20 a.m.

Rojas is accused of shooting 26-year-old Terry Hill and 21-year-old Elaina Bixon, both from Yucca Valley, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The investigation revealed Rojas arrived at the apartment and shot both of the victims during an argument.

Deputies said Rojas is accused of pulling out a handgun and shooting Hill in the head, and as he was leaving he shot Bixon in the leg. The victims told deputies Rojas drove away in a white Mitsubishi.

Deputies found his car shortly after when he crashed. They said he fled the scene of the shooting and was driving erratically on northbound Warren Vista Avenue when he ran a stop sign at Yucca Trail, colliding with an SUV that was traveling westbound on Yucca Trail.

Rojas was uninjured in the crash. Officers with CHP and sheriff’s deputies found a handgun and arrested Rojas at the scene. He was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail for attempted murder and is being held on $1M bail.

Hill and Bixon were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Deputies said Hill was treated for a gunshot graze to his head and Bixon was treated for a gunshot wound to the lower-back of her leg. Both were later released from the hospital.

Alicia Bravo, a 39-year-old from Beaumont, was traveling in Rojas’ car at the time of the crash. Officials said she’s recovering from a neck injury at the hospital.

Detectives continue to investigate the shooting.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 will deliver more details as the investigation moves forward.