Felon arrested on two counts of attempted homicide
Joshua Arnold, 41, of Visalia, arrested Thursday in San Luis Obispo
– At approximately 3:27 p.m., on Thursday, the San Luis Obispo Police Department received reports of a shooting in a parking lot in the 1500 block of Froom Ranch Way in San Luis Obispo. Witnesses observed a man shooting at a vehicle that was driving away. A passenger in the vehicle was struck by a bullet and injured and transported themselves to a nearby hospital.
Grover Beach Police had responded to an earlier shooting at approximately 1 p.m. at 4th Street and Grand Avenue. The armed suspect fled the scene before police could apprehend him and was last seen driving a black Ford Mustang with a white stripe. The Grover Beach Police Department released surveillance video of the suspect’s vehicle on social media shortly after the initial shooting. The suspect and vehicle description in San Luis Obispo matched that of the shooting that occurred in Grover Beach.
At approximately 4:20 p.m., San Luis Obispo Police received a tip from an alert resident that the suspect vehicle from the Grover Beach shooting was in the 1900 block of San Luis Ranch Road. Officers and deputies from the San Luis Obispo Police Department, San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office, California State Parks, California Fish and Wildlife, and California Highway Patrol responded and located the suspect vehicle. After a brief search, the suspect was located nearby and surrendered. He was identified as Joshua Arnold, 41, of Visalia.
When he was arrested, Arnold was not carrying a weapon, but police were advised that two other people were inside the residence and possibly armed. The San Luis Obispo Regional SWAT team responded and worked to secure the area and determine whether there were armed individuals inside the residence. SLOPD asked residents within two blocks of the scene to shelter in place. The residence was searched and found to be empty.
A handgun was later recovered at a nearby model home that the suspect had reportedly entered prior to being captured by police.
Arnold was transported to the San Luis Obispo County Jail and booked on charges of attempted homicide (two counts), attempted carjacking, being a felon in possession of a handgun, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
