By Sara Beth Williams–
A man faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison after he was convicted on Nov. 12 of murdering another man living in Citrus Heights, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Joshua Brisbane was convicted of first-degree murder after sufficient evidence found that he had shot and killed an overnight guest staying in the back room of his estranged wife’s apartment, located in Citrus Heights.
According to police, on March 22, 2023, officers responded to a report of a deceased adult male just before 7 p.m. inside an apartment building on the 7800 block of Sayonara Drive. They arrived to find a man who appeared dead from a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as 33-year-old Jason Simmons.
In July 2023, Citrus Heights Police arrested 30-year-old Brisbane, with help from the Roseville Police Department SWAT team and Sacramento County Probation officers, for the killing of Simmons.
Brisbane was not living in the apartment with his estranged wife at the time Simmons was rooming there, the District Attorney’s Office said.
When Brisbane returned to the apartment one day, the victim texted a girlfriend that he was concerned for his safety because Brisbane did not know he was living there, the Attorney’s Office said, adding that Simmons was found “executed in his bedroom” the next day, with a single gunshot wound to the forehead. No romantic relationship between Simmons and Brisbane’s estranged wife was disclosed.
Phone records and video surveillance showed Brisbane at the residence during the time of the murder. A bullet projectile located near the victim was determined to have been fired from a handgun found in Brisbane’s vehicle. Brisbane’s DNA was also found on the firearm and gunshot residue was found on his hands.
Brisbane’s sentencing is set for Jan. 28, 2027, at 1:30 p.m. in Department 12D before Judge Kenneth Brody.
