Senior state official arrested for domestic violence and unlawful imprisonment

Attachments

This is the charging document from the Thurston County Prosecutor's Office in the matter of Joshua Johnson from Aug. 31, 2021.

The deputy director of the Washington State Lottery was arrested for domestic violence assault and unlawful imprisonment of his wife after an alleged drunken argument yesterday.

Joshua Johnston, 41, was arrested on Aug. 31 by Tumwater police after his wife contacted dispatch. She stated that both her husband and she had been drinking, that she had been able to leave the house, but that there were two small children still inside with her husband.

When Tumwater police contacted Johnston’s wife, she was crying, out of breath, and scared of her husband, according to the police report. Johnston had allegedly pushed her to keep her inside of the house, and that she had been able to escape the house from the basement.

Police say Johnston admitting coming from a friend’s house, where he had a “couple beers” and even though he admitted that his wife wanted to leave the house, he did “stand in her way so she couldn’t leave.”

When asked by police if he pushed his wife, Johnston said “I don’t think so” and “I remember everything. I guess I did kind of push her. It was only to get her to stay.”

Johnston told police that he likes to resolve arguments while his wife likes to “run away” from them.

Johnston’s wife said that he pushed her to keep her from leaving the house.

Johnston was arrested for false imprisonment and assault, booked into the Thurston County Jail.

According to a LinkedIn profile, Johnston has served as the Deputy Director of the Washington State Lottery since July 2018, overseeing all agency operations. Previous to that, Johnston worked at the Washington State Department of Licensing as acting Deputy Director.