Man who pled guilty to Palm Desert assault gets 24 months probation

One of two men accused of assaulting two people last year in Palm Desert with a semi-automatic firearm was sentenced today to 24 months probation.

Jaden Xavier Garcia, 20, previously pleaded guilty to the felony assault charge and admitted to an armed with a firearm enhancement.   

Judge Otis Sterling sentenced Garcia at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, with probation terms, including not possessing firearms and completing an anger management course before Aug. 30, 2025.

Garcia also pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted murder, a charge which was dismissed.

The other defendant in the case, 19-year-old Jose Arturo Morales, is scheduled for a trial-readiness conference on May 31. Morales faced the same initial charges as Garcia.

Deputies responded around 2:50 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2023 to the 45300 block of Garden Square in Palm Desert to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to Sgt. Daniel Milbrandt of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Two victims were allegedly followed by Morales and Garcia, whom they both knew.  

"One victim was struck multiple times and sustained a single gunshot wound to his face,'' Milbrandt said in a statement. "He was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other victim, who was uninjured, had allegedly been stalked by Morales for several weeks before the assault."  

Morales and Garcia were apprehended in the 68700 block of 33rd Avenue in Cathedral City by Palm Desert sheriff's station deputies, the Palm Desert Investigations Bureau, the Palm Desert Burglary Suppression Unit and the Desert Regional SWAT after allegedly attempting to flee a residence, according to Milbrandt.

Garcia was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on $25,000 bail, while Morales was being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $1 million bail.