Around 12:15 a.m. Friday, March 22, Mariposa County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Joshua Battles, 36, of Mariposa, at the scene of a solo vehicle accident in the 6400 Block of State Route 140 in the Midpines area.

Investigation led deputies to arrest Battles for attempted homicide of the vehicle’s four other occupants. It appears that Battles attempted to kill the occupants by intentionally driving the vehicle off of the highway and directly into a tree. The occupants of the crashed vehicle included a 27-year-old adult female and three children ages seven, four and one and-a-half-years-old.

The occupants of the vehicle were treated at a local area hospital and, at the time, appeared to have suffered no serious injuries.

Alcohol and/or drugs appear to be a factor involved in the investigation.

The Mariposa Area California Highway Patrol is assisting the Sheriff’s Office with the vehicle impact investigation.

Battles is in custody for numerous felony charges including attempted homicide, terrorists threats, child abuse, spousal abuse, and probation violation. His bail was set at $500,000.

The investigation is ongoing and no further details will be released at this time.