Lacombe man dumped in Florida was murder suspect’s brother, sheriff says

MILTON, Fla. (WKRG)— The Santa Rosa County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office has identified a man found dead as a murder victim from St. Tammany Parish.

Sheriff Bob Johnson said Friday that 32-year-old Joshua James, from St. Tammany Parish, was the man whose body was found floating in a canal at Jakes Bayou in Milton on Tuesday.

Three people have been arrested and charged with the murder of Joshua James, including the victim’s brother. Jason James, Patrick McCarty, and a 17-year-old juvenile are charged with second-degree murder.

The three suspects are accused of beating James to death in St. Tammy Parrish and then transporting his body more than 200 miles away. Johnson said the suspects dumped the 32-year-old’s body in Jakes Bayou near Robinson Point Road at an unknown time.

“This was a routine body dump. They passed so much water to get here. We don’t understand why they chose Santa Rosa County,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there was any rhyme or reason to it, to be honest with you.”

Johnson said Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office investigators used fingerprints to identify James and worked with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office to help capture his alleged killers.

“We had an unidentified body (June) 14th. On the 15th, my major crime unit is in St. Tammany Parish serving search warrants. They discovered the location where the (homicide) occurred.”

Johnson said law enforcement knows the motive behind the murder but won’t release it at this time to avoid harming the murder investigation still underway in St. Tammany Parish.

McCarty and James were booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center, while the juvenile was booked into the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. All three face charges of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.

Johnson said the three suspects won’t face any charges in Santa Rosa County.

“We’re not going to charge them,” Johnson said. “Why (would we) when they could get a life sentence? We’re not looking to press charges on them for anything here.”