Trial date confirmed for man accused in fatal Palm Springs shooting

A judge today confirmed an upcoming trial date for a Sky Valley man accused of a 2021 murder in Palm Springs.

Jeffrey Burgess, 45, has been charged with murder in the June 22, 2021, death of 44-year-old Jose Sosa of Coachella. He faces a charge of discharging a firearm with serious bodily injury, which could result in a felony, according to court records.

Burgess' trial is scheduled to begin on January 13, 2025.

During a preliminary hearing in March 2023 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Officer Matthew Olson of the Palm Springs Police Department testified that when he arrived at the scene and saw Sosa with gunshot wounds to the head, Burgess flagged him down and led him to Sosa's body.

“Brain matter was coming out of his head,” Olson said. “On the north side of the street, there were several items on the ground within five feet of (Burgess). As I recall, he had the top of a rifle with a flashlight attached to it, an open folding knife and a cell phone.”

When asked what happened, Burgess said he received an alert from his security camera and saw a shirtless man outside his house spraying his camera with a garden hose, Olson said. So he got in his car and drove from Sky Valley to the Palm Springs home to look for the man, according to the report.

Burgess subsequently found him outside another residence and yelled “What the hell are you doing on my property?” to scare him away, Olson said. The man then threw four rocks at Burgess, who then went to his car, pulled out a handgun from under his driver's seat and retrieved a magazine of bullets from his trunk.

“(Burgess) said the man threw another rock at him and Mr. Burgess tried to hold him down, after which a struggle ensued… he then fired at the man, but was initially surprised because he thought they were warning shots,” Olson claimed. “He stated he was unsure where he was aiming, but he knew he had a good background and that he would not hit any bystanders standing behind the man.”

According to Palm Springs police, Burgess called 911 and “reported being involved in a shooting.” He was arrested, questioned and later taken into custody. No one else was injured.

The defendant has no criminal convictions in Riverside County.