CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The man accused of the shooting death of a Charleston Police Officer is now lodged in the South Central Regional Jail.
Joshua Phillips, 38, of Charleston was released from the Charleston Area Medical Center around 11 a.m. Saturday and transferred to the jail. He was escorted from the facility by officers of the Charleston Police Department who wore face masks bearing the number “146”, ironically the unit number of Patrolman Cassie Johnson whom Phillips is charged with killing.
Johnson was shot after a struggle with Phillips after she responded to a complaint of an illegally parked car back on December 1st on Charleston’s Garrison Avenue. Court documents indicated Phillips pulled a gun first and fired five shots, one of which struck Patrolman Johnson in the neck. Investigators say Johnson pulled her service weapon and fired three shots in return. Phillips was hit twice in the torso. He fled the scene and was arrested a short time later after Johnson, despite her wounds, was able to give fellow officers a description.
Phillips had been recovering at CAMC ever since the incident. Patrolman Johnson died two days later.
Phillips was led from the hospital still wearing a gown with his left arm in a sling, handcuffed to his right hand. He will be lodged in the South Central Regional Jail awaiting his next court dat