JOSHUA HARMON PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER, ATTEMPTED ARSON, WANTON ENDANGERMENT, & ASSAULT
COVINGTON- On January 7, 2024, Independence Police responded to a residence in the 10000 block of Canberra Drive after a frantic 911 call from a woman who reported being assaulted by Joshua Harmon. The caller also said Harmon was armed with a gun and a knife. During the 911 call, dispatchers could hear gunshots in the background. Officers rushed into the house and found Harmon trying for force himself into a master bathroom where the woman and her three children had barricaded themselves. Officers observed bullet holes in the door of the master bedroom where Harmon had shot his way through the locked door. After Harmon was arrested, police searched the residence because they smelled gasoline. Officers discovered Harmon had placed a gas can in the home’s oven and turned it on. The can had already begun to swell but officers removed it before the can exploded.
Harmon, 29, was arrested and charged with Attempted Murder, Attempted Arson 1st Degree, Wanton Endangerment 1st Degree, and Assault 4th Degree. While being transported, Harmon spit on an Independence Police officer resulting in an additional charge of 3rd Degree Assault. Harmon was indicted by the Kenton County Grand Jury for four counts of Attempted Murder for the four people in the residence when he tried to blow it up. The Grand Jury also returned indictments for Attempted Arson 1st Degree, Assault 4th Degree, Assault 3rd Degree, and three counts of Wanton Endangerment 1st Degree for placing the lives of the woman and her three children at risk by shooting through the door behind which they were hiding.
On August 12, 2024, Harmon entered a guilty plea as charged to all offenses. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders is recommending a 20 year sentence.
Sanders called Harmon’s actions “unthinkable” and said the 911 call was one of the most things he has ever heard. “There is nothing but fear and terror in that mother’s voice!” Police reports indicated that after Harmon’s arrest, he asked police if the woman and her children were dead, not knowing if his shots through the doors had hit them. “As if the shooting wasn’t horrific enough, the gas can in the heating oven could have killed the victims and police officers alike!” said Sanders.
Formal, final sentencing is scheduled before Kenton Circuit Judge Kathleen Lape on September 23, 2024 at 9am.
Posted on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024 @ 8:57PM
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