Sgt. Joshua Caudell, 29, an Arkansas Corrections K9 Officer, was shot and killed on the morning of 2/28/22 while assisting the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. A welfare check was being conducted on 2/27/22 at approximately 8:00 p.m. Deputies responded to a residence on Corvallis Road to check on a woman who had reportedly not shown up for work. When deputies arrived at the home units knocked on the front door attempting to contact Jordan, no response was given. Authorities said a sergeant knocked again and shined his flashlight into the residence through the glass of the front door. Jordan shot through the door, prompting the sergeant and a deputy who was also at the scene to seek cover. Though neither law enforcement officer was struck by a bullet, shards of glass reportedly struck the sergeant in the face and neck. Patrol vehicles were also struck by rounds being fired from inside the home. When SWAT officers made entry to the home, there was no one inside and determined the was was empty at approximately 2:30 a.m. That was when the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) tracking dogs were called in to assist in the search for the missing woman and the gunman. The dogs tracked the suspect, identified by officials as 37-year-old Demark Lee Jordan to underneath a trailer on Overstreet Road. Sgt Caudell was shot in the chest while he and another K9 officer were looking under the trailer at approximately 4:00 a.m. The gunman began firing at them from his position underneath the trailer. Sgt. Caudell was transported to the hospital where he later died. The Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad and the Little Rock Police Bomb Squad arrived to assist. At 10:30 a.m. robots from the teams were sent under the house, and discovered that Jordan was no longer there. The woman who was Jordan’s wife, the subject of the initial welfare check, was eventually found unharmed. Jordan escaped the area after shooting the K9 sergeant. Sgt. Caudell served in the Tucker K9 Unit and had been with the Department of Corrections since December 2012. In addition to his time at the Tucker Unit, he had worked at the Cummins Unit, Maximum Security Unit, Varner / Varner Super Max Unit and the Pine Bluff Unit. Sgt. Caudell leaves behind a wife Lorna-Beth and three small children, EmmaRae, Audrey and Jeremiah.
Demark Lee Jordan was captured on 3/1/22 at approximately 6:00 am. Jordan is facing one county of capital murder and two counts of criminal attempt of capital murder. Jordan is being held without bond at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility and is expected to face a judge in the case on 3/2/22.
