Ringgold man charged with aggravated assault against Catoosa sheriff's deputy after pulling gun

A Ringgold man created a scary situation for law enforcement on Wednesday night, Nov. 2, when he allegedly pulled a gun on a Catoosa County sheriff's deputy and threatened suicide during a foot chase, police say. According to the Catoosa County Sheriff's Department: Joshua Andrew Duncan, 24, of Mark Lane, was arrested Nov. 3 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm while trying to commit a crime, obstruction or hindering law enforcement, possession of marijuana (less than one ounce), reckless conduct, and probation violation.

Two other people were also arrested: 29-year-old Mark Anthony Bredwell of Ringgold and 21-year-old Kaitlyn Ashley Ritchie of East Ridge, Tenn. Both have been charged with possession of methamphetamine. All three offenders remain in Catoosa County jail with bond set at $8,565 for Duncan, and $5,000 each for Bredwell and Ritchie. The incident involving the three began at approximately 11:15 p.m. Wednesday on Lakeview Drive in Rossville when deputy Aaron Thomas pulled over a Ford F-150 truck because of a faulty headlight. The truck pulled over into a Mapco Mart parking lot, at which time Thomas learned that Duncan had outstanding warrants for probation violation and failure to appear. After asking Duncan to step out of the passenger side of the truck, Duncan took running from Thomas, reports show. During the chase, Thomas unsuccessfully attempted to hit Duncan with his taser, and soon learned that the man he was chasing was carrying a gun. Thomas says Duncan pulled a silver handgun from his waistband and began yelling, "Stay back! Don't make me do it! I'm not going back to jail!" Thomas drew his firearm in return, creating a standoff between the two, reports show. "I pointed my service weapon at the offender and ordered him to drop the gun," Thomas said. "He (Duncan) then placed the gun under his chin yelling that he wanted me to kill him and that he can't go back to jail." Deputy Thomas eventually got close enough to tackle Duncan to the ground. While holding Duncan down, Thomas says he even had to go so far as to place his thumb between the cocked hammer and the base of the gun to keep Duncan from firing it.

Fort Oglethorpe Police officer James Davis also arrived at the scene to assist Thomas with getting the gun away from Duncan. During the struggle, Duncan continued to resist officers, and wouldn't let go of the gun, which prompted Davis to tase him in order to get him to drop it. After he was taken into custody, officers found marijuana in Duncan's pocket, and eventually transported him to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton for evaluation. While interviewing Bredwell and Ritchie after the chase with Duncan, a sheriff's K-9 unit detected narcotics in the truck. While searching the vehicle, deputies found a hypodermic needle containing liquid methamphetamine inside a backpack. Ritchie claimed ownership of the backpack, but neither her nor Bredwell claimed to know anything about a plastic baggie of additional meth found in the passenger side of the vehicle. Ritchie and Bredwell were also arrested without any further incident.

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