Columbus man faces charges for April armed road rage incident

Law enforcement arrested a Columbus man Thursday night who allegedly shot at a vehicle during a road rage incident in southern Johnson County last month.

Kaden M. Marsh, 18, was arrested by officers in Jackson County Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged by Johnson County Prosecutors on May 16 with one count of criminal recklessness, a Level 5 felony, and two counts of pointing a firearm at another, a Level 6 felony. If convicted on all charges, and if they are served consecutively, he faces a term of one to 11 years in prison.

Deputies from the Johnson County Sheriff’s office received a report of a road rage incident involving a firearm in the area of U.S. 31 and County Road 400 South just after 9:30 p.m. on April. Dispatchers told deputies a woman had reported she was at the intersection when someone in a black SUV fired shots at her car. Gunshots could be heard in the background of the 911 call, and shortly after shots were fired, she drove away from the SUV, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies found the victim traveling northbound on U.S. 31 past Nineveh Road. When deputies stopped and spoke with her, she said she was traveling with three other occupants when the incident occurred. She also said that no one was hurt, according to the report.

There were no bullet holes in the vehicle, nor was there any apparent damage to the vehicle, according to the report.

The victim told police she was traveling northbound on Interstate 65 from the Taylorsville exit when she first noticed a black SUV following her and changing lanes as she did. She then got off the interstate at the Edinburgh exit and turned on County Road 800 East, where she saw that the SUV was continuing to follow her. The victim then asked a passenger to call 911, the report says.

The SUV continued to follow the victim as she went turned westbound onto County Road 400 South. When she approached a stop sign at the intersection with U.S. 31, the SUV pulled in front of her, and a man wearing a black hoodie exited the vehicle, according to the report.

The victim said she could not back up due to another car being behind her, so she drove around the SUV to get onto U.S. 31. She also said she saw the man holding something in his pocket and thought she heard two gunshots as she drove away. Another occupant of the victim’s vehicle told police she saw the man holding a small black gun and heard several gunshots, the report says.

A deputy drove out to the area of U.S. 31 and County Road 400 South but did not locate any shell casings or property damage in the area. Deputies also observed no bullet holes in the victim’s vehicle, nor was there any apparent damage. Deputies later searched for the SUV but were unable to find it, according to the report.

During a follow-up to the initial investigation, investigators spoke to residents who lived along County Road 400 South near the incident. A resident told police they heard three gun shots around the time of the incident and went outside to see what was going on. They saw a vehicle speeding southbound on U.S. 31, but were unable to give a description, the report says.

However, the witness did give deputies a bag containing three 9 mm shell casing from the scene they had collected, and a deputy logged them into evidence. The witness was also able to show deputies where they found the casings, the report says.

Deputies also observed tire marks in the grass which confirmed what the victim had said about how they fled the scene. The witness also informed deputies that a neighbor had footage of the incident that was recorded from a home surveillance system. The footage confirmed also confirmed what the victim told police, the report says.

The footage also included audio, and the during the incident three gun shots could be heard. This was followed by the sound of squealing tires and an engine reviving as a vehicle sped away from the area.

Later, deputies used the FLOCK license plate reader system to locate the suspect vehicles. Deputies were able to find the black SUV on the system, along with a truck that was identified as following the SUV. The truck belonged to a relative of Marsh, the report says.

When the victims came back for a second interview, a victim told deputies she had received a phone call from a friend who had learned that their boyfriend’s brother drives a similar vehicle to the victim’s car, and that the brother had an ongoing dispute with Marsh. When a victim searched for Marsh on Facebook, she immediately recognized him as the man wearing the black hoodie who had exited the SUV and who was holding the gun that was later fired, the report says.

The three other occupants also identified Marsh as the shooter, and said he didn’t approach them after getting out of his car. Instead, he stood there and opened fire as they drove away, according to the report.

The victims gave a phone number to detectives which traced back to the relative of Marsh. During a photo line-up conducted a few days later, two of the victims identified Marsh at the person who fired a weapon at their vehicle, and another identified Marsh as the one holding a pistol as they drove by him, the report says.

Based on this information, deputies received a search warrant to search Marsh’s residence in Columbus on April 29. When they arrived, they attempted to speak to the owner of the property, who was Marsh’s relative, but was unable to reach him. While waiting, a neighbor informed them that they last saw Marsh and the vehicle registered to him – which was a sedan, not an SUV – two days prior, the report says.

After waiting for a while for the relative to respond, deputies breached Marsh’s home and searched the property. Detectives were unable to locate Marsh, but were able to find two 9 mm pistol magazines. They also found evidence which confirmed Marsh had been at the home, according to the report.

An arrest warrant for Marsh was issued on May 18 in Johnson County Superior Court 3 and he was arrested more than a day later by Jackson County law enforcement. In a statement, Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess thanked Jackson County law enforcement, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the case.

Marsh was taken to the Johnson County jail on a $3,300 bond, which he has since paid.