Johnson man arrested, charged in shooting

By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor

PAINTSVILLE — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office apprehended a man July 2 who was involved in a shooting in the Puncheon Creek area of the Sitka community June 29.
Joshua Caudill, 28, of Stambaugh, is charged with first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.
Caudill was reportedly apprehended during a traffic stop.
According to the complaint by Deputy Jeff Castle of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Caudill, armed with a .38-caliber handgun, shot James Jason McKenzie in the arm, with the bullet traveling through his arm and lodging in his side. “Caudill then stood over top of the victim, pointing the gun at his head, threatening to kill him and proceeded to threaten the victim and his mother that he would kill them if she did not provide him with keys to the vehicle so he could escape,” the complaint said.
Caudill stole a gray 2008 Mazda 3 to “escape the crime scene,” the complaint said.
Johnson County Sheriff Doug Saylor said last week that Caudill and McKenzie had been arguing, which led to shots being fired. Saylor said they were able to locate the vehicle Caudill was driving near the Johnson/Lawrence County line on Rt. 201. But after following tips and conducting an extensive search throughout the night, they were unable to locate Caudill, he said. McKenzie was transported from the scene by Paintsville EMS to a landing zone off U.S. 23, where he was flown to an area trauma center for injuries suffered during the incident. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office posted information on its Facebook page that Caudill had been captured and lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center without incident. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police were both involved in his capture and arrest. Saylor said in the Facebook release that due to this being an open case, no further details are being released. This is not Caudill’s first brush with the law. Most recently, he was charged in a June 13 indictment with first-degree strangulation, first-degree assault and receiving stolen property.