Man Pleads Guilty To Shooting Brother-in-Law In The Valley

INDIO, CA — A man who shot his wife's brother in Desert Hot Springs last year, then fled across state lines, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted murder and evading arrest charges.

A Jan. 9 sentencing date is set for 25-year-old Javier Solis Jr., who shot the victim just after midnight on Nov. 29, 2017, and was taken into custody several hours later in Quartzsite, Arizona.

The victim, whose name was withheld, suffered a "shattered" left elbow from a single gunshot and was hospitalized at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to an arrest warrant declaration.

Police said the victim responded when his sister and Solis ran out of gas at the corner of Desert View Avenue and Cactus Drive. After bringing a gas can to fill up the car, the victim began discussing his sister and her child moving in with him, and Solis then asked if he, too, could move in. But the brother-in-law refused, citing Solis' "volatile temper," according to the declaration.

An argument ensued, and Solis brandished a handgun while still sitting in the driver's seat and shot his brother-in-law, the declaration alleges. He then drove off and dropped off his wife at a local business before leading California Highway Patrol officers on a pursuit that crossed into Arizona, where he was taken into custody by members of the Quartzsite Police Department.

Following his arrest, Solis was in Arizona custody until being extradited to Riverside County last month.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock