James Littlejohn, a 39-year-old man from Flint, Texas, was found unresponsive on the side of the road in the early hours of April 12, 2025. Authorities responded to a 911 call reporting a man lying near the intersection of SH 155 S. and Oakridge Dr.. Upon arrival, deputies discovered Littlejohn had suffered a gunshot wound. Emergency medical services transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His body was later sent to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas for an autopsy.
Investigators determined that Littlejohn had been picked up in the Lakeway Harbor subdivision by a female driver, Ashley Kate Joiner, with a male passenger, John Floyd McDaniel, 55, seated in the back. During the ride, McDaniel allegedly pulled a firearm on Littlejohn in an attempted robbery before shooting him. Littlejohn managed to exit the vehicle and ran across Highway 155 before collapsing on the roadside. McDaniel and Joiner then fled the scene.
Authorities tracked McDaniel to Shreveport, Louisiana, where officers from the Shreveport Police Department arrested him at the Economy Inn near the Shreveport Airport later that morning. McDaniel was taken into custody along with his 16-year-old son. He was booked into the Caddo Parish Jail on an unrelated warrant, while his son was transported back to Smith County. Smith County investigators are in the process of obtaining an arrest warrant for capital murder against McDaniel. Joiner was arrested on April 15, 2025, and charged with capital murder by terror threat/other felony. She is currently being held at the Smith County Jail.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to gather evidence and determine the full circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
