Alleged driver in Smith County shooting charged with capital murder by terroristic threat

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A woman is behind bars Monday night in connection with the murder of James Littlejohn in Flint over the weekend.

Ashley Kate Joiner, 34, is accused of being the driver of the vehicle involved in Littlejohn’s murder, Smith County Sheriff’s Office PIO Larry Christian said. She is charged with capital murder by terroristic threat, and her bond is set at $2 million.

Littlejohn, who was 39, was found in the early morning hours Saturday lying on the side of a road with gunshot wounds. He was unresponsive, and was pronounced dead when taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Smith County investigators and the Crime Scene Unit responded to the scene, where they learned the man had been a passenger in a car before being shot, according the the sheriff’s office. Authorities said he was picked up by the driver and passenger in the Lakeway Harbor subdivision.

The sheriff’s office said the car was driven by a woman, now identified as Joiner, and a man in the backseat pulled a gun and tried to rob Littlejohn, who was in the front seat. The suspect allegedly shot the victim, who jumped out of the car, ran across the highway and collapsed on the side of the road.

The suspected shooter fled the scene. He has been identified as John Floyd McDaniel, 55, and has since been taken into custody in Shreveport. At that time, the sheriff’s office said they were in the process of getting an arrest warrant for capital murder for McDaniel.