WAYNE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Wayne County jury found a Monticello man guilty of multiple charges, including unlawful imprisonment and assault on a service animal, following a 2022 armed standoff with law enforcement.
A post from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office detailed that Joshua Ellis was convicted following a two-day trial presented by Commonwealth of Kentucky Special Prosecutor Jessie Stockon on April 1 and 2. The jury recommended Ellis serve his sentences consecutively, which include nine years in prison and $750 in fines.
The charges stem from an incident on May 1, 2022 in which Wayne County Sheriff Office deputies responded to a home on East Kentucky Highway 92. Investigators learned Ellis had held his wife against her will inside their neighboring home prior to the 911 call. Ellis also had a physical altercation with his son, which resulted in the son shooting Ellis.
When Sheriff Tim Catron and deputies arrived, witnesses said Ellis barricaded himself inside his home with firearms. After Ellis refused to exit, deputies deployed Deputy K-9 Dunya. The K-9 located Ellis and applied apprehension tactics. Ellis injured the dog during a brief struggle before deputies took him into custody.
The jury found Ellis guilty of first-degree unlawful imprisonment, which carries a five-year sentence recommendation; first-degree wanton endangerment, which carries a three-year sentence recommendation; first-degree assault on a service animal, which carries a one-year sentence recommendation; second-degree criminal attempt to commit burglary, which carries a $500 fine; and third-degree criminal mischief, which carries a $250 fine.
