Trial date pushed back in homicide case involving Eureka man

The trial of a Eureka man accused of killing his father may not begin for several months.

That was the general thought following a hearing on Nov. 13 in Lincoln County District Court for twenty-five-year-old Joshua Joseph Sauls. Sauls is facing a charge of deliberate homicide in the death of his father, John Lewis Sauls, on May 31, 2022. Sauls pleaded not guilty to the offense during a court hearing earlier this year.

Montana Assistant Attorney General Thorin Geist, who is the prosecutor, said he expected to call about 15 or 16 witnesses to testify and that five days would be sufficient to put on his case.

"We are ready, December of January would work or May if those months don't fit," Geist said.

But public defender Maury Solomon said he thinks the trial will be longer, about eight days. 

"Our office has reorganized and there is a new line of questioning I'd like to pursue," Solomon said. "Hopefully the witnesses will cooperate and May would be fine for us."

District Judge Matt Cuffe said he and court staff would take a look at the calendar to determine when the trial could begin.

The trial was originally set for Aug. 21-25 before being pushed back to December.

Solomon is working with Emily Lamson on the case while Ryan Hennen is the other attorney also involved. They have indicated they may call his mother in an upcoming trial to provide an alibi for the defendant.

According to a June 6 court filing by Lamson and Hennen, it reported that Michelle Sauls, the mother of Joshua Sauls and the wife of John Sauls, may be called to provide an alibi for the defendant.

Geist and Meghann Paddock of the state Attorney General’s Office filed a motion on June 9 seeking to prevent Sauls from presenting evidence or arguing that the victim’s unidentified “drug dealer” committed the homicide.

According to a report from the state, an autopsy indicated John Sauls had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his blood and urine. State attorneys say Sauls had not identified any witnesses or exhibits to support the theory. They also assert that Sauls can only speculate how drugs were found in John Sauls’ body.

Lincoln County Judge Matt Cuffe will rule on the state’s motion at some point in the future.

In the charging document alleging the crime, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office found the deceased man at a location on Thirsty Lake Road, about 7.5 miles up Meadow Creek Road after receiving a report from a passerby.

Deputies Bobbie (Noel) Aston and Clint Heintz found John Lewis Sauls with three gunshot wounds. 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 semi-automatic and two bullets.

On Wednesday, June 1, Detective Rhodes spoke to John Sauls’ wife, Michelle. 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.

Michelle Sauls 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 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 Michelle Sauls, 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.

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.

Sauls was brought back from Los Angeles County in early February after being held there since his arrest on June 28, 2022, on charges unrelated to the homicide.

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 was an inmate at North Kern State Prison since Oct. 19, 2022 before his return to Lincoln County.

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.