Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.
The armed intruder killed by a Cross Lanes homeowner on Aug. 8 has been identified.
Joshua Duff, 35, of Mount Zion, Calhoun County, was fatally shot in the Rocky Fork area of Kanawha County near Cross Lanes.
According to an Aug. 8 news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, a homeowner arrived at his residence in the 300 block of Lick Branch Road around 12:20 p.m. on that day. The homeowner opened the front door and found an intruder armed with a knife and a baseball bat. There was an altercation, and the homeowner, who was armed, shot the intruder outside the house.
Duff was believed to be unknown to the homeowner, according to KCSO Sgt. Josh Lester. The homeowner was uninjured in the fight.
Two days prior to the fatal shooting, on Aug. 6, "Duff led deputies on a high-speed pursuit in a vehicle stolen from Pennsylvania," according to an Aug. 14 KCSO news release. "The pursuit traveled through the Cross Lanes area into Putnam County, then returned to Kanawha County before ending when Duff crashed the vehicle on Poca River Road near Lick Branch Road. Duff fled into the woods before deputies could reach him and was not located despite an extensive search by deputies and K-9 units."
The KCSO believes Duff remained in the Lick Branch Road area, "eventually breaking into the residence where the fatal incident occurred," according to the KCSO.
The investigation continues, but no charges have been filed against the homeowner. This is the ninth reported homicide in Kanawha County this year and the second one on Aug. 8.
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