By Kimberly Pistone
For the Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — A jury found Jacqueline M. Caudill, aka Jacqueline M. Yelton, 38, of Sidney, guilty on one count obstructing justice, a fifth degree felony, one count assault on a peace officer, a fourth degree felony, and one count resisting arrest, a second degree misdemeanor. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before reaching their verdict.
The trial was about two separate incidents in 2023.
On the evening of Jan. 26, law enforcement officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Joseph Yelton, who at the time was Caudill’s fiancé (the two later married).
Law enforcement officers had seen a truck they knew Yelton sometimes drove at his mother’s home when they knocked on the door. Caudill answered the door and officers asked for Yelton. Caudill claimed he was not there.
After the encounter, which lasted less than 10 minutes, officers remained in the area to keep a look out for Yelton, including one officer who remained in sight of the front door of the residence. Approximately 25 minutes after Caudill closed the door on the officers, EMTs were called to the residence for a medical concern regarding the homeowner. EMT medics were alerted to the arrest warrant.
Shortly after EMTs arrived on the scene, Yelton walked out of one of the bedrooms. Law enforcement officers were called and Yelton was arrested.
On Feb. 24, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Caudill’s home regarding felony charges against Yelton. Caudill arrived on the scene where she was informed that the officers needed her cell phone as part of the warrant. She threw her phone at Officer Sean Martin’s face and while being arrested kicked the officers and fought having her hands pulled behind her back.
Shelby County Chief Criminal Assistant Prosecutor William Zimmerman and Assistant Prosecutor Madison S. Brinkman represented the State; criminal defense attorney Scott A. Kelly represented Caudill.
During opening statements, Zimmerman stated that Caudill’s behavior during both incidents highlighted a lack of respect for authority. He also stated that almost everything was detailed in body cam footage, which would be shown during the trial.
In Kelly’s opening statement, he said that in order to find Caudill guilty the state had to prove every element of each charge, and that there would be missing pieces in each case. He also stressed that Caudill was not on trial for being rude or angry or disrespectful.
Witnesses included five police officers, two EMTs, Yelton and Caudill’s mother-in-law Vanessa Williams. Caudill also took the stand in her own defense. Body cam footage from several officers during both incidents was shown.
The first witness was Deputy Frank Bleigh of the Shelby County Sheriff’s office. Bleigh was the uniformed officer who came to the door on the January evening to arrest Yelton. When he asked Caudill if Yelton was there, she said he was not. She yelled obscenities at the officers and slammed the door after claiming to not know where he was.
Bleigh’s body cam footage was shown. It shows officers arriving at the residence, knocking on the door and Caudill yelling before slamming the door.
After Caudill slammed the door, Bleigh still believed Yelton was on the property, so he drove to a nearby parking lot where he could see the street and parking area of the residence, but not the front door. He reported that he did not see anyone walking on the street.
The next witness was Yelton. He said he did not remember when he arrived at the residence on Jan. 26, but he and Caudill arrived together in the red truck that officers had spotted. He was there for a couple of hours, then went outside to walk around and smoke.
He said he walked out the front door, walked around the parking lot, and walked to a local Marathon Station. He said he was gone for a while, smoking because he was upset.
He returned by the front door. When he returned, he could hear Caudill and Williams talking at the back of the residence, and he went into the front bedroom and fell asleep on the floor. He woke up when the ambulance arrived. Yelton said he was not sure if he was in the house when law enforcement was there. Yelton was also unsure how long he was away from the residence that evening. He said Caudill was upset and that sometimes he does not listen to her yelling because she yells a lot.
Regarding the incident in February, Yelton said he could see everything because law enforcement officers had handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police cruiser. He saw officers grab Caudill and witnessed her throw her phone. He described her throw as going way over the officer’s head and only hitting him because he blocked it with his forearm.
After Yelton testified, Detective Joel March was called to the stand. March was in plain clothes when he was at the residence in January serving the arrest warrant on Yelton. He said Bleigh did all the talking, and said Caudill was agitated and slammed the door in their faces. When he left, he parked an unmarked vehicle near the residence, across the street where he could keep an eye on the residence and front door. He said he would recognize Yelton and did not see anyone walking on the street. He remained across the street until he saw the EMTs arrive. He did not have a body cam because he was in plain clothes.
Detective Bobby Benshoff was the next to testify. He was present at the incident on Jan. 26. He was wearing a body cam. The footage shows him walking to the door and shows Caudill and Williams inside the door. You can hear Caudill respond several times that she did not know where Yelton was. After officers left the residence, Benshoff drove up and down the street and did not see Yelton walking.
Next, Alex Herron, a Sidney Fire Department firefighter and paramedic, was called to the stand. Herron was the lead medic on the medical call the evening of Jan. 26. Herron was primarily talking to the patient and interacting with the patient, but saw a man come out of a bedroom on the right side of the home immediately after EMTs arrived.
Andrew Zumberger, another firefighter and paramedic with the Sidney Fire Department, was next to testify. He said dispatch gave him the information regarding Yelton, so when Zumberger arrived he was on the lookout for Yelton. Zumberger was in the residence for less than 20 seconds when a man came out of the bedroom. Zumberger confirmed the man was Yelton, and reported to the police that he was in the residence.
Officer Sean Martin of the Sidney Police Department testified next. He was present at both incidents. At the arrest in January, he was the officer who went to the back of the residence in case someone tried to exit that way. His body cam footage was shown, and that footage showed Yelton being arrested after the paramedics arrived. He was also involved at the incident in February. He was in the house when Caudill arrived on scene, and he walked outside to interact with her. He told her they were executing a search warrant and that he would need her phone.
Caudill responded that they didn’t need the phone and tried to put it in her pocked, then threw the phone at him with an overhand throw to his face. He blocked it with his arm. After throwing the phone she was arrested, but she was not cooperative and had to be taken to the ground. Martin’s body cam footage was shown from this event as well. Kelly asked Martin if he gave a copy of the search warrant to Caudill, and he responded he did not because she did not ask. Kelly asked if Martin thought the situation might have been de-escalated had he done that, and Martin responded he did not believe so. Martin did not believe Caudill was trying to throw the phone away, but that she was aiming for him and attempting to hurt him.
Officer Bryce Stewart testified next. He was acting as security during the execution of the search warrant, so he was outside the home when Caudill arrived on February 24. He said he saw her truck arrive; he informed Martin who came out to interact with her. Stewart also confirmed that when she did not lightly toss the phone. When she threw the phone he informed her she was under arrest, but she refused and ended up on the ground. Stewart’s body cam footage was shown. From this angle it is easier to see the angle of the phone when it is thrown. It is also evident that during the arrest she was kicking, hitting, and threatening the officers.
At this point the State rested their case and the judge ended for the day. Kelly made a motion for acquittal which the judge denied.
The next day, Kelly called Williams as his first witness. The first incident, in January, was at her home. The EMT call was for her, she was having trouble breathing and said she was probably having an anxiety attack. She was present during the police visit along with Caudill, and said her sister was sleeping in the room next to the front of the house. She heard Caudill deny Yelton’s presence, and said she hadn’t seen him in a while that day. She thought he went out the back door, but didn’t actually see him leave. She was unaware of Yelton’s location during the medical call. She said he probably came in the back door after the police left and before the medics arrived. She also said her sister came out of the bedroom when the police left because she heard all the yelling.
Kelly asked Williams if she would lie for her son and she said no.
Caudill was the final witness. She was crying on the stand. She remembered that time as one filled with stress – there was a lot going on that made her emotional. She said she has mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and she takes medication to help her not be emotional all the time.
Regarding the first incident, Caudill said when the officers knocked she didn’t think Yelton was there. She was not sure if she saw him leave, and she looked in the house but did not look in the bedroom where her aunt-in-law was sleeping because the door was closed. Caudill said he had left earlier to smoke because he usually smokes outside. She also did not think Yelton was inside when the EMTs were called.
Regarding the second incident, she was at work when she received a call letting her know police were at her home. Caudill said she was not told there was a search warrant and was never given a copy of it. She said she was trying to call her dad when the officers tried to grab her phone and she threw it, but she wasn’t intending to hit anyone. She said she did not hear him say she was under arrest.
When Zimmerman cross-examined her, he showed Martin’s body cam footage again where she clearly asked when she arrived on scene what they had a search warrant for. Martin also clearly said that if she didn’t give the phone, she would be arrested. Caudill also said she did not hear an officer say she was being arrested, and in the body cam video that statement is very quiet, however as soon as it is said, Caudill responded “No, I am not!”
After Caudill’s testimony, the defense rested their case and closing arguments were made. In her closing argument, Brinkman reminded the jurors they had seen and heard the testimony which showed disrespect by Caudill, that the jury saw through body cam videos Caudill lying to officers, throwing her phone at Martin and kicking and fighting while being arrested. Brinkman reminded the jury to focus on the facts and to not let Kelly confuse the issues when he gave his closing statement.
Kelly gave his closing argument, saying he did not know an officer kept an eye on the front door, but that the officer did not have body cam footage. Kelly told the jury that there were pieces missing in each charge, and those missing pieces meant there was reasonable doubt.
Brinkman had a chance to have the final word, and said that no case that goes to trial is perfect, but to use common sense when deliberating to make their decision.
After the jury delivered their verdict, Caudill was referred to adult probation.
