Riverside County Sheriff's Department deputies arrested a 40-year-old man from La Quinta on Christmas Eve for allegedly assaulting a victim with a firearm.
Sgt. David Aldrich said it took nearly a day to find the suspect who had fled the area by the time deputies arrived on scene. The man has since been apprehended by the Thermal Station Investigations Bureau and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center.
"On December 23, 2022, at 9:05 p.m., Thermal Station patrol deputies responded to the 53600 block of Avenida Villa in the city of La Quinta, reference an assault with a deadly weapon call for service", a news release from the department said. "The investigation revealed the suspect, Joseph Nicholas, a 40-year-old resident of La Quinta, assaulted the victim with a firearm during a domestic dispute. The victim fled the residence to call 911."
The Thermal Station Investigations Bureau assumed the investigation. The following day at 8:52 a.m., Nicholas returned to the La Quinta residence, according to the release. The Emergency Services Team (EST) was contacted and responded to the scene in an attempt to apprehend him. The Thermal Station Investigations Bureau authored a search warrant for residence, which was served by EST.
During the execution of the warrant, Nicholas surrendered to EST personnel without incident, the Sheriff's Department said. The firearm allegedly used in this incident was recovered. In addition, an Emergency Protective Order was obtained and served on behalf of the victim.
Anyone with additional information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff's Station by calling 760-863-8950. Alternatively, anonymous information can be reported through Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867 or through their website, valleycrimestoppers.org.