Man Accused in Julian Shooting Pleads Not Guilty

A man accused of shooting a male acquaintance outside a trailer home in Julian last week pleaded not guilty today to charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jeffery Roberson, 47, was ordered held without bail.

The shooting came to light shortly before 9 a.m. last Thursday, when a motorist driving through Julian spotted the 34-year-old victim lying on a roadside in the area of Banner Road and Apple Lane.

The driver picked up the wounded man and drove him to a nearby fire station, where medics airlifted him to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, according to sheriff's Sgt. Tom Poulin. The victim was expected to survive, the sergeant said.

Based on statements from the victim, deputies went to a large residential lot in the 35600 block of state Route 78, where they arrested Roberson, who resides there. Roberson's live-in girlfriend, 40-year-old Jennifer Minor, was also arrested but was not charged in the case, prosecutors said.

It was unclear what prompted the gunfire, Poulin said. The victim apparently knew the suspects and had visited them at their trailer in the past, according to Poulin.

Following the shooting, the wounded man walked more than a mile before collapsing. It appeared that a single round from a small-caliber gun had passed through his left arm before lodging in his neck, Poulin said. The gun that fired the shot was not immediately recovered.

Roberson will be back in court April 15 for a preliminary hearing at the courthouse in El Cajon.

—City News Service