Left: Raymond Jones (Hennepin County Jail). Right: Desirae Argueta-Joj (Bradshaw Funeral Home).
A 66-year-old Minnesota man is headed to prison for murdering a woman he just met after a dispute over a measly $30 by shooting her directly in the heart.
Raymond Jones was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder in the death of 43-year-old Desirae Argueta-Joj. The jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder intentional murder. A judge sentenced him to more than 10 years in prison, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
The shooting occurred on Nov. 5, 2025, at an apartment in the 2600 block of West Broadway in Minneapolis. Cops went into the apartment where they found the victim holding a knife and suffering from a gunshot wound, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. She was dead.
Jones called 911 and first said she had a gun and it went off during a struggle.
“I had help pulling the trigger,” he told cops.
But Jones couldn’t explain how exactly the gun went off during the struggle. He also did not have any defensive wounds.
The defendant explained how he picked Argueta-Joj earlier in the day and intended to pay her for sex. They ended up back at his apartment, but it “wasn’t working” and the victim stood to leave.
Jones stated he prevented her from leaving the apartment when he noticed his $30 in cash was missing. She pulled out a knife.
“She just flipped the whole script,” he told cops.
That’s when he grabbed his gun and the so-called struggle ensued.
Prosecutors disputed Jones’ claim that the gun went off by accident. They say he placed the gun over Argueta-Joj’s heart and pulled the trigger because he was mad about the $30. He should have been convicted of second-degree intentional murder, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
“My thoughts are with Ms. Argueta-Joj’s loved ones. She should still be alive,” the prosecutor stated.
She said prosecutors were asking for 15 years behind bars but got just over a decade, instead.
“Mr. Jones is a 66-year-old man who does not take responsibility for his actions. Because of a dispute over $30, he fired his gun at contact range into Ms. Argueta-Joj’s heart,” Moriarty said. “The facts of this case make the verdict, the sentence, and the ways in which blame was apportioned to the victim in court minimize Mr. Jones’ culpability for his actions.”
Argueta-Joj was a mother of nine, her obituary said.
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