Man who shot 2 in SLO County ‘crime spree’ sentenced to more than 50 years in prison
A Visalia man who led officers from a shooting in Grover Beach to another in San Luis Obispo was sentenced Tuesday to 58 years to life in prison.
Joshua Lee Arnold, 42, pleaded no contest to three counts of attempted murder with premeditation and two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm on Aug. 9, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The charges stemmed from a “crime spree” that left two people with gunshot wounds.
He also admitted he used a firearm in the commission of the three attempted murders and inflicted great bodily injury on two of those victims.
Arnold also has a previous strike offense for a conviction stemming from a 2016 domestic violence charge that resulted in great bodily injury.
He was sentenced to 26 years plus 28 years to life in prison — 58 years to life total — for his crimes.
Crime spree started with attempted robbery
On Aug. 17 around 1 p.m., Arnold attempted to rob a clerk at the 7-Eleven in Grover Beach at gunpoint. He brandished the handgun at the clerk, but the clerk refused to give Arnold money and tried to call 911.
That’s when Arnold walked around the counter and shot the clerk in the neck at a close range, the agency said.
The gunshot exited the front window of the convenience store and “narrowly” missed two bystanders outside. Despite his wound, the agency said, the clerk provided surveillance footage to officers before being transported to the hospital.
Then, at 1:50 p.m., the District Attorney’s Office said, Arnold stole cigarettes from Kachi Smoke Shop in Nipomo. He did not use his firearm in that crime.
At 3:30 p.m., Arnold attempted to carjack the driver of a Ford Mustang near the Panda Express in the Froom Ranch parking lot in San Luis Obispo.
That driver — a 50-year-old San Luis Obispo resident — had just left the fast-food restaurant with his 19-year-old son, who was in the passenger seat during the attempted carjacking.
The driver “quickly accelerated” in an attempt to flee Arnold, who shot multiple rounds from his handgun toward the vehicle as they drove away. Two bullets entered the vehicle — one striking the 19-year-old in the back. The driver then drove his son to the hospital.
Arnold then fled the scene in his vehicle, the District Attorney’s Office said.
He was found about 30 minutes later in the nearby San Luis Ranch neighborhood, where he was taken into custody without further incident.
Both gunshot victims were treated for their injuries and released from local hospitals.
