A young man who shot a Palm Desert resident in the face over a conflict possibly stemming from a feud was bound for state prison Thursday to serve a sentence of 14 years, eight months behind bars after pleading guilty to attempted murder and other charges.
Jorge Arturo Morales Jr., 21, of Cathedral City admitted the attempted murder count, along with firearm assault, stalking and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, during a hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Susanne Cho accepted Morales’ plea, without dismissing any charges, and imposed the stipulated sentence.
Morales’ co-defendant, 22-year-old Jaden Xavier Garcia, pleaded guilty in 2024 to gun assault and was sentenced to two years’ mandatory supervision.
According to sheriff’s investigators, Morales was at odds with a victim identified in court documents as “K.S.,” though the specific reasons were not stated, and for several weeks in February 2023 he had been harassing the victim.
Shortly before 3 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2023, K.S. and a friend, identified only as “E.M.,” were walking in the 45300 block of Garden Square, near Larrea Street, in Palm Desert when Morales and Garcia confronted them, sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Milbrandt said at the time.
In the ensuing confrontation, Morales pulled out a Glock semiautomatic handgun and shot E.M. in the face, after which the defendant and Garcia fled, the sergeant said. K.S. was not hurt.
E.M. underwent surgery at a Coachella Valley trauma center and has since recovered from the gunshot wound.
Detectives quickly identified the two assailants, culminating in a search warrant being served at Morales’ residence on 33rd Avenue in Cathedral City the same day.
Milbrandt said a SWAT team arrived to find the defendants attempting to flee the location. They were apprehended without incident.
The exact circumstances that motivated the shooting were not detailed.
Until this week, Morales had no documented prior felony adult convictions in Riverside County.
Garcia also did not have priors until his admissions in 2024.