Shooter in Attempted Murder of Julian Gold Miner Sentenced to 14 Years

A man who shot a male acquaintance outside the defendant's trailer home in Julian was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison.

Jeffery Roberson, 48, pleaded guilty in September to attempted murder and use of a firearm causing great bodily injury.

The shooting came to light shortly before 9 a.m. March 28, when a motorist driving through Julian spotted 34-year-old Joshua Fair lying on a roadside in the area of Banner Road and Apple Lane, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

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, sheriff's Sgt. Tom Poulin 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 was also arrested but later released after authorities decided not to charge her in the case.

It was unclear what prompted the gunfire, though Poulin said the defendant and the victim were acquaintances and the victim had visited the defendant's trailer in the past. Fair told Patch that Roberson was his business partner in gold mining.

Fair said he still doesn't know what prompted Roberson to shoot him, emphasizing that no drugs were involved as well as no gold deals gone wrong.

Following the shooting, Fair 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.

Fair told Patch for an earlier article that the day he was shot in Julian will haunt him forever.

"I relive it everyday," he said.

-City News Service