In the early morning hours of June 3, 2017, the life of 41-year-old Johnny Wayne James of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, was tragically cut short. Events unfolded in Stonewall when a 911 call was placed reporting a man had either jumped or been pushed from a moving vehicle on Highland Avenue. This man, a witness to the crime, informed the Stonewall Police Department that Johnny Wayne James had been shot.
According to the witness, he, James, and a third individual, Joshua Allen Miller,
were inside a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder when Miller, from the backseat, shot James without provocation. A short time later, a second call led authorities to County Road 350, where they discovered James's body lying face down on the road. Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene and pronounced him dead from a gunshot wound. The male victim was a skilled plumber and a father.
Immediately following the incident, a manhunt was initiated for the suspect, Joshua Allen Miller. Authorities considered him to be armed and dangerous. The search intensified after Miller was spotted in Jones County, near Laurel. Law enforcement later discovered the Nissan Pathfinder abandoned in a wooded area off of Interstate 59.
The search for Miller came to an end approximately 48 hours after the shooting. On the morning of June 5, 2017, he was apprehended by the Laurel Police Department at a Ramada Inn. Following his arrest, Miller was transferred to the Clarke County Detention Facility, where he was set to face a capital murder charge for the death of Johnny Wayne James.
