Menifee Woman Accused In Attempted Murder Heads To Court

MENIFEE, CA — Trial proceedings are slated to get underway next week for a 49-year-old woman accused of shooting and wounding her boyfriend during a dispute at her Menifee home.

Jobana Secilia Machuca was arrested in 2023 following a Menifee Police Department investigation at her residence in the 29000 block of Farbo Court, near Pelion Road.

Machuca is charged with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm resulting in great bodily injury and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a gun in the commission of a felony.

During a status hearing Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides agreed to work on submitting pretrial motions Monday.

The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.

According to Menifee police Lt. Paul Barbieri, shortly after 6 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2023, Machuca and the victim, whose identity wasn't disclosed, were involved in an unspecified domestic squabble that culminated in the defendant grabbing a handgun and allegedly leveling it at him.

Barbieri alleged that Machuca fired a shot that struck the man in the "left side of his upper torso."

Witnesses called 911, and officers and paramedics reached the location within a few minutes.

According to the lieutenant, Machuca was immediately taken into custody without incident, and the victim was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of the wound, from which he later recovered.

Machuca has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.