ICSO jails Salton City man for attempted domestic violence

SALTON CITY – What began as a routine roadside welfare check led to the arrest of a violent man in Salton City on Monday afternoon, August 26, on charges including attempted murder, according to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office.

Jesus Rojas, a homeless man from Salton City, was booked into the Imperial County Jail on three separate domestic violence-related charges: assault, threatening to commit crimes with intent to terrorize, and attempted murder. He was held on $1 million bail.

“He was questioned and gave a different story about the incident. He was arrested on that charge and her injuries were treated at (John F. Kennedy Hospital) in Indio,” Sheriff Sergeant Moises Badena reported Tuesday afternoon, August 27.

According to the sheriff's activity log, the incident occurred off Highway 86 and Salton Sea Road, where Deputy Branden Kalin, while on patrol in the area, approached a minivan parked on the side of the road. Upon closer inspection, the deputy identified two people, a man and a woman, both sleeping in the vehicle, at which point he began knocking on the windows and asking about the two's well-being.

Kalin immediately noticed that the unidentified woman had injuries to her face and took further action, the records say.

“She had severe vestibular bruising, which prompted the officer to investigate further. He separated the two and called emergency services, who examined the woman's injuries. While she was being cared for, she told another officer that she was a victim of domestic violence. Based on her injuries and the relationship, he was arrested for domestic violence,” Badena said.

In addition to the spousal assault charges, Badena said, “The deputy also noticed marks on the victim's neck that he believed were from strangulation, so he added the attempted murder charge,” which was reflected in the incident report under California Penal Code 664/187(a) for attempted first-degree murder.

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The assault cases fall under CPC 273.5(A), which makes it illegal to “injure a spouse, domestic partner, or co-parent in an act of domestic violence. This offense is also known as domestic abuse, domestic violence, or assault of a spouse.”

“Often a 4/187 charge is accompanied by a domestic violence charge, and that is usually because the victim was strangled,” Badena said, giving a little more insight into the range of charges.

Badena added: “While assaulting her, he also threatened her with death, which gave rise to an additional charge of criminal threat,” which falls under CPC 422(A).