Man Who Tried to Shoot Family Member Sentenced

A convicted felon who tried to shoot a relative during an argument, then eluded police in a daylong cat-and-mouse search, was on his way to state prison Friday after pleading guilty to an assault charge.

Jose Jorge Cornejo, 25, was arrested in June following a Hemet police investigation.

Cornejo earlier this week reached a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office under which he admitted an assault with a deadly weapon charge. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

The plea deal, which Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez certified, resulted in a preliminary hearing set for Friday at the Banning courthouse being vacated. Hernandez sentenced the defendant to four years in prison. He’ll have to serve at least 3 1/2 years before he’s eligible for parole.

According to Hemet police Lt. Eric Dickson, on the morning of June 15, Cornejo and a family member became embroiled in a dispute in the 1000 block of Gilbert Street that culminated in the convicted felon pulling a handgun and shooting at the victim, whose identity was not released.

The man alleged that Cornejo fired several shots at him before fleeing the area. There were no injuries.

Officers arrived a short time later to investigate and located the victim, as well as shell casings ejected from the semiautomatic firearm used by the defendant, according to Dickson.

He said officers canvassed the area but couldn’t find Cornejo.

About 2 p.m., officers were alerted to a man with a gun at a restaurant in the 100 block of Sanderson Avenue. Dickson said the gunman was confirmed to be Cornejo, but he left the location just before patrol officers swarmed the establishment.

The defendant’s gray Chevrolet Impala was spotted a short time later in the 3000 block of Chianti Drive, but officers again arrived too late to catch him, Dickson said.

While the search continued on Chianti, a sheriff’s deputy encountered the Impala in the 600 block of Kirby Street, prompting the lawman to summon Hemet police officers, who arrived moments later and initiated a traffic stop on the driver in the 400 block of Tahquitz Avenue, according to Dickson.

“Jose was uncooperative, exited the vehicle and refused to follow officers’ commands to stop,” the lieutenant said. “Jose aggressively approached the officers and was ultimately detained with the assistance of an electronic control device. A firearm was recovered from inside the Impala.”

Cornejo was later booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

According to court records, he has a prior conviction for burglary, to which he was sentenced to probation in 2009.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of the