Accused killer returned to Lincoln County

A Eureka man accused of killing his father on Memorial Day last year has been returned to Lincoln County.

Joshua Joseph Sauls, 24, was brought back from Los Angeles County last week. He had been held in the county jail there since his arrest on June 28 on unrelated charges.

Sauls was scheduled to appear in Lincoln County District Court Monday afternoon for arraignment on deliberate homicide charges.

According to booking information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, Sauls was arrested on June 28 by Los Angeles Police Officers from the Southeast Division. Court documents indicate he was arrested for evading law enforcement and injuries occurred during the incident.

According to the California Department of Corrections, Sauls has been an inmate at North Kern State Prison since Oct. 19, 2022. He is eligible for parole in September 2024.

According to court records, Lincoln County investigators have served two search warrants in the case. One sought Sauls’ DNA while another sought location data from his iPhone between midnight May 29, 2022, and 11:59 p.m. June 1, 2022.

County investigator Duane Rhodes collected two buccal swabs from Sauls on Feb. 2, according to court records.

According to a court document filed Feb. 6, the Montana State Crime Lab collected DNA samples from cigarette butts found at the crime scene. A lab report indicated DNA on the cigarette butts did not belong to the victim, John Sauls, but was 222 million times more likely to have come from his biological child.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed on June 21, 2022, in Lincoln County Justice Court, Sauls was sought by law officers in the death of his father.

In the charging document, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a report on Tuesday, May 31, of a dead man, later identified as John Lewis Sauls, on Thirsty Lake Road, about 7.5 miles up Meadow Creek Road.

Deputies Bobbie (Noel) Aston and Clint Heintz found John Lewis Sauls with three apparent gunshot wounds to the head. Later, an autopsy at the Montana State Crime Lab in Missoula determined the man had died of three gunshot wounds to the back of his head.

After Aston and Heintz secured the scene, county Detectives Duane Rhodes and Dan Holskey began to investigate. They found three cigarette butts with two gold-colored rings around the filter at the scene as well as three fired shell casings from a Winchester .45 caliber automatic and two bullets.

On Wednesday, June 1, Detective Rhodes spoke to John Sauls’ wife, the mother of Joshua Sauls. She said the last time she saw her husband was on Monday, May 30. She said Joshua Sauls was also living in the home and was angry at John due to a “family crisis” that had occurred.

According to an application for a search warrant in the case, the family crisis involved the recent discovery of an alleged molestation of a family member by John Sauls about 20 years ago.

John Sauls’ wife also told investigators that Joshua Sauls got divorced and ended up homeless in Nevada. Family members then brought him back to the home in Eureka.

John Sauls’ wife also said that on Monday, May 30, Joshua and John did some “acid” and left the home in a black Chevy Monte Carlo. She also said that John Sauls had encouraged the children to take drugs and that he is a “junkie” and doesn’t take care of himself.

John’s wife said the Monte Carlo was now parked behind the house. On Tuesday morning, the wife noticed John’s door was shut, which was normal, and she assumed he was sleeping, according to the court document.

Later, according to Joshua’s mother, Joshua told her that while they were out for a drive, they got into an argument and John grabbed the steering wheel. Joshua allegedly said he kicked John out of the car and left him in the Dog Creek area on U.S. 93. Joshua also said he was headed to the Dog Creek area to look for his dad.

During the interview, Det. Rhodes saw cigarette butts and multiple spent .45 caliber casings at the residence. He returned with a search warrant, collected the butts and casings. Rhodes said the items matched the ones found at the crime scene.

Also, family members told Rhodes that John Sauls didn’t smoke and that he owned, and typically carried, a .45 caliber firearm. The gun was not found at the scene or during a search of the home and car, according to court documents.

According to court records, Rhodes learned that Josh Sauls allegedly had a .45 caliber Glock Model 21 handgun in his possession when he was arrested in California. Records indicated the gun was purchased on Feb. 15, 2018, by John Sauls.

Rhodes submitted shell casings from the firearm to the Montana State Crime Lab for comparison to casings found at the crime scene. The casings did not match.

Rhodes also spoke to a Meadow Creek Road resident who told the investigator he saw the black car driving up the road at about noon on Tuesday, May 31. The witness said the car caught his attention because it was a “low” car and he didn’t see that type of vehicle on that dirt road very often.

If convicted of deliberate homicide, Sauls faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in the Montana State Prison and a maximum of 100 years. He also faces two to 10 years for the alleged use of a weapon in the commission of the offense.