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Thread: Death Penalty Trial: Patrick Rene McDowell Pleads Guilty in 2021 FL Slaying of Deputy Joshua Moyers

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    Death Penalty Trial: Patrick Rene McDowell Pleads Guilty in 2021 FL Slaying of Deputy Joshua Moyers


    Deputy Joshua Moyers


    Patrick Rene McDowell



    Nassau County manhunt: Sheriff says man accused of shooting deputy will ‘pay for it’

    Search continues Saturday as sheriff says deputy shot twice during traffic stop ‘not going to survive’

    By Aaron Farrar
    News4JAX.com

    CALLAHAN, Fla. – As he announced that 29-year-old Deputy Joshua Movers was "not going to survive" his injuries, an emotional Sheriff Bill Leeper said the man suspected of shooting the deputy twice during a traffic stop early Friday will “pay for it.”

    An all-out manhunt continued Saturday for 35-year-old Patrick McDowell, and Leeper said he is believed to still be in the area after two items of interest were found: a flashlight and a hat.

    The sheriff said the search, which involves more than 300 personnel, is covering about 5-square miles of an area that includes a mixture of homes, hunting camps and large wooded areas.

    “We’re going to find him eventually,” Leeper said. “We’re doing the best we can, making progress, moving slowly through that area.”

    McDowell is accused of shooting Moyers twice -- once in the face and once in the back -- during a traffic stop early Friday near U.S. 301.

    Leeper had a warning for Nassau County residents on Saturday.

    “This guy is dangerous,” Leeper said of McDowell. “What he did to that deputy was uncalled for and unnecessary and he needs to pay for it.”

    He also warned residents not to do anything to help McDowell escape capture.

    “If we find out you’ve helped this guy, we’re going to arrest you for preventing us to capture him,” Leeper said.

    The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that CrimeStoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for anonymous information about McDowell’s whereabouts. The Florida Sheriff’s Association and Florida Deputy Association are also offering separate $5,000 rewards for information for a total of a $15,000 reward available to a potential tipster.

    SWAT team goes door to door

    SWAT team members went door to door in Nassau County on Saturday as they continued to search for McDowell, According to the Nassau County Sheriff’s office, the SWAT team was checking to make sure residents are safe and to verify they have not seen McDowell.

    “We just wanted to knock on every door, just to make sure the people who live there are safe. See if they’ve seen anything. Just look around the area to see if we see anything of interest, and just to make sure they’re safe,” Leeper said.

    Keith Haley, who has lived on River Road in the area for more than 50 years, said he has never seen any manhunt to this degree.

    “I would not say it was rattling, but it makes you nervous because you don’t know where this guy is,” Haley said. “He’s very dangerous.”

    Several neighbors described having the SWAT team members come to their door and call for them to come outside their homes. They said the officers asked if they were safe and checked to see if they were being held against their will.

    In some cases, they asked the homeowners if they could search behind their houses to make sure McDowell wasn’t hiding on or near their property.

    McDowell is accused of shooting Deputy Joshua Moyers, 29, in the face and back, during a traffic stop on Sandy Ford Road, just off U.S. 301.

    “It’s sad. It hurts my heart that the family is going through this,” said Haley, who told News4Jax he knows Moyers.

    He said if SWAT comes by his home, he ready to do whatever is needed.

    “I don’t have a problem with it. They have to do what they have to do to find this guy. If that’s what it takes, we have to get him,” Haley said.

    Crews search through the night

    Law enforcement officers from around Northeast Florida searched through the night for McDowell, who is considered “armed and dangerous.” If you see him, you are asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately at 904-548-4000.

    Nassau County investigators said the surveillance images pictured below were taken overnight Thursday, before Friday morning’s traffic stop and shooting, and show the clothes McDowell was believed to be wearing.

    Leeper said the search, which involves at least 15 agencies, is utilizing helicopters, drones, ATVs, armored vehicles and technology that can detect heat.

    According to a LinkedIn page under his name, McDowell served in the U.S. Marines from 2005-2009.

    Leeper said McDowell also shot a JSO K9 with a rifle during the manhunt. The K9 is expected to be OK. Investigators found the rifle near where the K9 was shot.

    Leeper posted a tweet with more photos of the suspected shooter, asking anyone who has seen him to call authorities as soon as possible.

    Traffic stop turns violent

    Leeper said Moyers pulled over a burgundy-colored minivan early Friday morning on US 301, and McDowell, who was driving, turned onto Sandy Ford Road before pulling over just in front of some train tracks. A woman was in the passenger seat of the van, Leeper said, when Moyers learned McDowell -- who gave him a false name -- didn’t have a driver’s license and that the tag on the van belonged to a different vehicle.

    Leeper said investigators later learned the vehicle had been stolen from Jacksonville.

    Leeper said the encounter, which was captured on dashcam video, turned violent when Moyers went to open the driver’s door and get McDowell out of the van -- just as a train began to pass on the tracks. He said the lights and flashers of the train crossing began going off, and that’s when McDowell’s arm came out of the vehicle holding a handgun and he shot the deputy in the face.

    When the deputy fell to the ground, Leeper said, McDowell reached out and shot him in the back before slamming on the gas and speeding through the railroad crossing just as the arms were coming down.
    Leeper said the backup deputy Moyers had called arrived about 30 seconds later and found him lying in the road.

    He said Moyers, who joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2015, and his fiance have been planning their wedding. “Keep them in your prayers,” Leeper said.

    Agencies join manhunt

    After speeding away from the shooting, McDowell and the woman who was with him abandoned the van in a wooded brush area and hid under a shed nearby, but the woman told McDowell she didn’t want to be involved, left him and called 911, Leeper said. She was the one who told deputies who they were looking for.

    News4Jax found that McDowell has at least three recent arrests in Duval County: one for a traffic stop and two for failure to appear in court.

    Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and state patrol personnel have been seen searching along U.S. 301 near Higginbotham Road and Sandy Ford Road. Leeper said at least 15 agencies have assisted them in the manhunt. People in the area were asked to stay indoors.

    JSO posted to social media asking anyone with external cameras in the area, including hunting cameras, to check their footage for McDowell and call Nassau County with any information.

    https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...oting-suspect/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers dies after being shot twice during traffic stop

    Moyers, 29, died at UF Health in Jacksonville where he was being treated after being shot in the face and back, according to the sheriff’s office

    By First Coast News Staff

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers has died after being shot twice during a traffic stop Friday morning.

    Sheriff Bill Leeper confirmed the news Sunday afternoon.

    “It is with great sadness that I announce Deputy Josh Moyers has passed away this afternoon, September 26, 2021 at 2:19 PM at UF health in Jacksonville. Please keep Josh’s family and fiancé in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this terrible tragedy," Leeper said.

    Moyers, 29, died at UF Health in Jacksonville where he was being treated after being shot in the face and back, according to the sheriff’s office.

    The shooting happened following a traffic stop around 2:30 a.m. near Micker Street in the Callahan area of US 301.

    During a news conference Saturday, Leeper said that Moyers was not expected to survive and that Moyers' family was in the process of finding recipients for his organs.

    "I want to thank all the doctors and medical personnel at UF Health Jacksonville. They've done a tremendous job, they're some of the best of the best," Leeper said. "There was just nothing they could do for Josh."

    Authorities believe 35-year-old Patrick McDowell, a former Marine from Jacksonville, is responsible for shooting Moyers. He is still on the run and is considered to be armed and dangerous.

    The Nassau County Sheriff's Office, joined by agencies from around the state, is searching a five square-mile area in the area for McDowell. As many as 300 personnel are involved in the search.

    Family and friends have created a GoFundMe to help support Moyers' fiancée during this challenging time. You can click here if you would like to donate.

    A procession for Deputy Moyers was held Sunday evening at UF Health.

    https://www.firstcoastnews.com/artic...5-6661a6ccdff1
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    ‘He crawled out like a coward’: Man wanted in murder of Nassau deputy captured after 5-day manhunt

    By Samantha Mathers
    Action News Jax

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The multi-day manhunt for Patrick McDowell, the man wanted in the deadly shooting of Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers, has come to an end.

    The 35-year-old has been on the run since Friday, Sept. 24, after he was named as the suspect who shot Moyers twice, including once in the back, during a traffic stop in Callahan. Moyers died of his injuries two days later.

    Action News Jax told you Monday that the perimeter of the search for McDowell was now centered on a much smaller area. On Tuesday, following a tip, the search ended at a baseball field in Callahan.

    McDowell was hiding inside a concession stand bathroom when deputies swarmed the area. NCSO said McDowell shouted from inside that he wanted to surrender.

    “He crawled out like a baby. Like the coward that he is,” Nassau Sheriff Bill Leeper says.

    During his surrender, according to NCSO, a JSO K9 was unleashed after McDowell failed to fully cooperate with orders given to him by SWAT team members. He suffered bites to one arm.

    Last week McDowell was seriously injured after being shot by deputies who returned fire after the suspect shot a JSO K9. He was hit twice; once in the thigh, another bullet grazed the top of his head.

    In a live news conference Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Leeper said McDowell had contacted multiple people for help since the massive search began. One person is in custody for helping him evade arrest during the manhunt, according to NCSO. “He knew if he went to the hospital we would find him,” Leeper said.

    More people may be arrested for aiding McDowell. Leeper does not believe any members of the suspect’s family were among those who helped him hide.

    When asked if he wished deputies would have found McDowell dead Leeper said, “I wish he would have given us the opportunity to shoot him. He crawled out like a coward. But he’s in custody, and he’s going to pay for what he did to deputy Moyers.”

    McDowell was taken to UF Health for treatment.

    A Nassau County spokesperson said McDowell apologized to a deputy after his arrest. McDowell was arrested with Moyers’ handcuffs.

    Investigators say that McDowell, a former U.S. Marine and reservist, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his military service. McDowell has also been in and out of Five STAR Veterans Center in the past two years as part of Veterans Treatment Court order.

    On Monday McDowell’s father, Richard offered his condolences to Moyers’ family and loved ones in a public letter:

    "I would like to express my deepest regrets to the family and friends of Deputy Moyers. I know that’s small consolation given what a good and decent man he was. If I could change what happened, or trade places with him I would."

    "I want to explain a few things about Patrick but please don’t think I’m making excuses for him or trying to rationalize his actions. After Patrick returned from Iraq he enrolled and sought help from the VA for depression, headaches, and nightmares. He was diagnosed with PTSD and depression and some physical infirmities. At first, he was motivated to deal with his demons and started a family. As time progressed, he slipped into a darker place."

    "He had trouble with seizures, pain management, and sleep patterns. He turned to drugs and quit going to his VA appointments. He started stealing to support his habit and was arrested. He was accepted into Veterans Treatment Court and was doing very well. Judge Floyd and David were very engaged with him as were the Lovings at 5 Star."


    “When the Covid lockdowns began, the court had to go to virtual sessions which meant less supervision for the mentees. Apparently, this happened at a critical time in his treatment, and he immediately slipped back into his old habits and was arrested in Ga. He was in the Ga jail for a year (and still hasn’t had a trial because of Covid). After a year he came back to Jacksonville and was again generously accepted by the Lovings at 5 Star. You could see the spark had gone out of him and despite our many efforts he slipped over the edge and did this horrible thing."


    “I had resigned myself to the fact that he might overdose or take his own life. I never dreamed he would take someone else’s life. There are no excuses for what he did, and he will get what he deserves, one way or another. I’m not going to be a hypocrite and plead for his life; he was well aware of the consequences. If someone had done that to him, I would be enraged, so I understand the hate and vitriol directed at him. Just know that he wasn’t always like this. He is my son and I love him. My heart breaks for Deputy Moyers’ family. I hope, at some point, they can find some peace.”


    https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/l...IP45WM3M45B3A/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    ‘I Won’t Say Anything to Anyone’: Woman Helped Man Try to Escape After He Fatally Shot Deputy, Authorities Say

    By Alberto Luperon
    Law & Crime

    A woman has been charged with a felony for allegedly helping a man who shot and killed a deputy during a traffic stop on Friday try to escape, deputies said.

    Breiana Elizabeth Tole, 27, faces a felony count of accessory after the fact for having the back of murder suspect Patrick McDowell.

    The charge stems from a tragic traffic stop. Nassau County Deputy Josh Moyers pulled over a minivan that McDowell was driving, but McDowell fatally shot him in the face and then the back. This sparked a manhunt for the U.S. Marine veteran and former security guard, who also allegedly shot a K-9 named Chaos. Moyers died on Sunday at a hospital, authorities said.

    According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, McDowell messaged Tole from a new Facebook account.

    “Accept the friend request I sent and call me and please don’t tell,” he allegedly wrote, telling her he was in bad shape because he was shot.

    “It’s not looking good,” he allegedly said. “I need u more now than ive [sic] ever needed another living soul. I don’t beg, but I will be honest with you, without your help, I’m either gonna die out here from the wounds or they will kill me.”

    Tole allegedly promised help.

    “I won’t say anything to anyone,” she wrote, according to Nassau County deputies. “You have my word. I swear. I don’t trust the air around me, enough to gamble with your life. Let alone any person. Just tell me what to do. Where to go. When to be wherever. What arrangement to make.”

    McDowell allegedly wrote an hour later that he was going to tell her where to be, and he gave her a latitude and longitude. He told her to park at that precise spot, and he would be close enough to see her, police say. Tole allegedly answered, saying she would leave in five minutes, but McDowell told her not to arrive until 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

    Authorities said they found Tole driving while they were doing surveillance near the location McDowell gave. They claim she turned around on spotting sheriff’s office patrol units, but they stopped her and detained her for questioning after she tried to speed away. During a post-Miranda interview, she allegedly admitted to trying to help McDowell.

    “I know he did something wrong,” she said.

    Deputies said they caught McDowell on Tuesday. Court records show that Tole received a provisional order for a public defender.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...say/ar-AAOYgXQ
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Patrick McDowell: State seeking the death penalty for man accused of killing Deputy Joshua Moyers

    By ActionNewsJax.com News Staff

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The state said on Friday it will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joshua Movers.

    A Nassau County grand jury returned an indictment for Patrick McDowell, 35, on charges of first-degree murder, injuring or killing a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, according to a news release from State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office.

    https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/l...IZIG2YA4V734I/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Jacksonville woman accused of trying to help Patrick McDowell pleads guilty to accessory after fact

    McDowell charged with 1st-degree murder in death of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers

    By News4JAX.com Staff

    A Jacksonville woman accused of trying to help a man suspected in the murder of a Nassau County deputy pleaded guilty Tuesday to accessory after the fact.

    Breiana Tole, 28, will remain in the Nassau County jail, where she’s being held on $1 million bond. A status hearing is set for Oct. 20.

    Tole could be called as a witness in the trial of Patrick McDowell, who’s accused of killing Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers, so both prosecutors and the defense would like to set her sentencing following that.

    Tole was arrested Sept. 28. She is accused of driving to the sports complex where McDowell was hiding out in an attempt to get him out of the area and escape arrest, according to an arrest report.

    According to Tole’s arrest report, investigators were able to key in on her after monitoring various social media websites and tracking possible associates of McDowell.

    Around 3 p.m. Sept. 27, McDowell messaged Tole from a newly created Facebook account and told her to call him, her arrest report shows. McDowell, who had been on the run since Sept. 24, told her he was in bad shape because he had been shot, according to the report.

    “it’s not looking good. i need u more now than I’ve ever needed another living soul. I don’t beg, but I will be honest with you, without your help, I’m either gonna die out here from the wounds or they will kill me,” McDowell wrote in a Facebook message, according to the report.

    Tole told him she would keep their conversation a secret.

    “I won’t say anything to anyone. You have my word. I swear. I don’t trust the air around me, enough to gamble with your life. Let alone any person,” she wrote, according to the report. “Just tell me what to do, where to go. When to be wherever. What arrangement to make.”

    McDowell then told Tole the latitude and longitude of his location and to meet him there at 6 a.m. Sept. 28. But when Tole drove down the road toward the sports complex to pick up McDowell, law enforcement was waiting, according to the report.

    McDowell was found hiding out in a bathroom building at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex a short time later on Sept. 28, following a five-day man that began after he allegedly shot Moyers on Sept. 24. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26.

    At the time she was allegedly attempting to help McDowell, Tole knew that he was accused of killing Moyers, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.

    Tole admitted to investigators that she was going to the sports complex to help McDowell, according to the report.

    A search of Tole’s phone revealed a message to an unnamed person at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 where she contemplated going out to look for McDowell after the shooting.

    The Sheriff’s Office told News4JAX that Tole was not the woman in a van with McDowell the night he allegedly shot Moyers twice during a traffic stop early Sept. 24.

    McDowell, 35, was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. He’s pleaded not guilty.

    He also faces a charge of injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

    The state intends to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

    McDowell is being held in the Nassau County jail without bond, according to online jail records.

    Nassau County court records show his next court date is Aug. 15.

    https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...ry-after-fact/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Prosecutors release recording of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers when he pulled over his accused killer Patrick McDowell

    New material also includes bodycam video of interview with McDowell’s girlfriend

    By Scott Johnson and Frank Powers
    News4JAX.com


    The State Attorney’s Office on Monday released another batch of evidence in their case against Patrick McDowell, who is accused of shooting and killing Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers.

    On Sept. 23, 2021, Moyers was shot twice during an early morning traffic stop on US 301.

    The newly-released evidence includes the radio transmission from Moyers in communication with dispatch after making the traffic stop and calling in the vehicle tag number.

    In the audio, Moyers can be heard reading off the name of the registered owner of the vehicle, which investigators say was stolen and McDowell was driving when he was pulled over, before Moyers is shot.

    “First name’s going to be ‘Patrick’ — common spelling. Middle initial’s going to be Mike. Last name is going to be ‘Fowler,’” Moyers says.

    Then the first backup deputy arrives, finds Moyers on the ground and yells, “Officer down.”

    Deputy: “It’s 10-01, Moyers.”

    Dispatcher: “10-4.”

    Deputy: “HQ, I don’t have a pulse.”

    At one point, another dispatcher can be heading speaking with the deputy,

    Dispatcher: “Barnes, take a breath, take a breath. What do you need, buddy?

    Deputy: “I need rescue and I need somebody BOLOing. I had train tracks down. I don’t know if they went over the railroad tracks and I don’t know if they went south on 301.”

    McDowell was found hiding out in a bathroom building at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex a short time later on Sept. 28, 2021, following a five-day manhunt that began after he allegedly shot Moyers. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26, 2021.

    The other newly-released material is body camera video of an interview with McDowell’s girlfriend, Breiana Tole, after investigators say she was caught trying to help him escape the manhunt. In the footage, the deputy tries to get her to say what she knows.

    Deputy: “You realize you’re going to be an accessory if you don’t tell the truth?”

    Tole: “I tell the truth. Actually, the law thinks you’re an accessory if I helped and aided him, and I haven’t, because if I helped and aided him, I wouldn’t be here and he wouldn’t be in the woods.”

    Deputy: “OK, I’m done talking to you.”

    According to an arrest report, Tole drove to the sports complex where McDowell was hiding out in an attempt to get him out of the area and escape arrest. Tole in August pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and agreed to testify in McDowell’s trial, which is set to take place in 2023. Tole, 28, remains in the Nassau County jail, where she’s being held on $1 million bond, online jail records show.

    McDowell was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. He’s pleaded not guilty. He also faces a charge of injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The state intends to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

    McDowell, 36, is being held in the Nassau County jail without bond, according to jail records.

    Monday’s release of evidence by the State Attorney’s Office was the third in this case.

    https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...rick-mcdowell/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    State Attorney to continue seeking death penalty for man accused of killing Nassau Sheriff’s Deputy

    By Jake Stofan

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The man accused of killing a Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy is expected to plead guilty to the crime in a hearing schooled for this Friday.

    Often, when a person pleads guilty it comes along with a deal for lower charges, but the State Attorney is making it clear she won’t sign on to any such deal in this case.

    Patrick McDowell is accused of killing Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers in 2021 during a traffic stop.

    McDowell also faces charges related to injuring a police K-9 and assaulting a law enforcement officer.

    In a disposition hearing scheduled for this Friday, McDowell is expected to enter a guilty plea.

    Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson opined McDowell could be hoping to escape the death penalty with the move.

    “There’s a hope by the defense that they won’t pull out all the stops during the sentencing,” said Carson.

    But State Attorney Melissa Nelson has indicated her office will seek the death penalty regardless of whether McDowell pleads guilty or not.

    “The determination as to whether the defendant will be sentenced to death would occur during separate penalty phase proceedings,” said Nelson’s Communication Director David Chapman said in a statement.

    Carson isn’t surprised by the State Attorney’s reluctance to accept a plea deal.

    “You have individuals who are the spearpoint of controlling violence in the community and they have been injured in this particular case,” said Carson.

    But Carson said even with the State Attorney pledging to pursue the death penalty, there still could be an advantage for McDowell to plead guilty off the bat.

    “He’s admitted the offense, he’s sorry and he can in that way potentially cause the jurors to determine that his life is worth saving,” said Carson.

    Action News Jax will be in the courtroom Friday to bring you the result of the hearing.

    https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/l...outputType=amp
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    Man pleads guilty in 2021 fatal shooting of Nassau County deputy

    Patrick McDowell admits to killing Deputy Joshua Moyers during traffic stop

    By Francine Frazer and Marilyn Parker
    News4JAX.com

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Patrick McDowell stood before a judge in Nassau County court Friday and pleaded guilty to killing Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers in 2021.

    McDowell, who was charged with first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, also pleaded guilty to injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

    McDowell shot Moyers twice during an early morning traffic stop on US 301 on Sept. 23, 2021. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26, 2021.

    In October 2021, the Attorney’s Office said it would seek the death penalty if he was convicted of the murder of Moyers. McDowell’s defense team filed 20 motions in June 2022, one of which included asking the judge to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, declaring Florida’s death penalty law unconstitutional and declaring lethal injection cruel and unusual punishment.

    When News4JAX asked the attorney’s office if McDowell would plead to the indictment or if a plea would be accepted, the Attorney’s Office issued the following statement:

    “If McDowell were to enter a plea to the indictment on March 10, the State will continue to seek the death penalty. The determination as to whether the defendant will be sentenced to death would occur during separate penalty phase proceedings.”

    Judge James Daniel told McDowell on Friday that he will face a sentencing hearing on the injuring a police dog and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer charges, and that a penalty phase will be set for the first-degree murder charge. That penalty phase will include a jury that will decide whether to recommend the death penalty for McDowell.

    The traffic stop

    According to McDowell’s arrest affidavit, he told a woman who was in the van with him when Moyers pulled him over: "It's either me or him."

    McDowell told the woman when he saw Moyers lights that he wasn’t going to stop: “I’m not going to jail.”

    But McDowell did eventually stop, pulling off US 301 onto Sandy Ford Road, and stopping just short of the railroad tracks — a decision that would later prove fateful for Moyers.

    According to the reports, McDowell gave Moyers a false name and didn’t have a driver’s license. Moyers also learned the tag on the burgundy-colored minivan belonged to a different vehicle. Investigators later learned the vehicle had been stolen from Jacksonville.

    The woman with McDowell told investigators later that when Moyers approached the van asking for their IDs, McDowell reached behind his seat for his handgun. Moyers asked McDowell if there was a gun inside the van, and he said no.

    The woman told an FDLE agent that when Moyers asked for their IDs, she showed Moyers a photo of it on her phone, and McDowell handed over what she thought was an ID.

    Just then, the railroad crossing arms activated with the bells ringing and lights flashing. Moyers turned to look at the crossing arms for just a moment, and when he turned back, McDowell had a gun in his face — and pulled the trigger, shooting Moyers just below his eye, investigators said.

    Sheriff Bill Leeper said McDowell fired again and hit Moyers in the back as the deputy fell to the ground. Then he slammed on the gas and sped through the railroad crossing just as the arms were coming down, investigators said.

    The encounter was captured on dashcam video from Moyers’ patrol car.

    Leeper said the backup deputy that Moyers had called for arrived about 30 seconds later and found him lying in the road.

    That’s when the “Officer Down” call went out.

    The aftermath

    Moyers had been shot in the face and back and wasn’t breathing.

    The first four deputies to arrive at the scene after the Officer Down call took turns with Deputy Barnes, administering CPR to Moyers until paramedics arrived.

    Deputy Hall said he ran back to his patrol vehicle at one point, frantically throwing things from the trunk to get out an AED and other medical supplies. Deputy Cone said once they had the AED, he cut Moyers’ shirt open so the AED pads could be applied.

    Once paramedics arrived, Hall directed them to Moyers, explaining his injuries, and then the deputies helped move Moyers onto the stretcher.

    Deputy Holmberg, who had also been helping with CPR at the scene, gave the ambulance an emergency escort to prevent delays in arriving at UF Health Jacksonville’s trauma center.

    Despite their efforts, Moyers’ injuries were too severe. He died days later at the hospital.

    The manhunt

    The woman in the van with McDowell said he yelled, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I had to! I had to!,” as he sped away from the shooting scene, and the woman answered, “No you didn’t!” and demanded to be let out of the van.

    She said McDowell drove a short distance away and told her they had to hide.

    Records show McDowell served in the U.S. Marines, and a former colleague described him as a "survivalist" and trained shooter.

    In a video released as part of discovery material in the case, K-9 Chaos can be seen picking up McDowell’s trail in the woods in the hours after the shooting. After the dog starts barking, gunshots can be heard and the dog yelps in pain. Multiple officers then fire their rifles in unison into the darkness.

    But McDowell remained on the run for days and hundreds of law enforcement personnel searched for him in the Nassau County woods.

    More than 200 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers had focused their search efforts on a 5-square-mile perimeter southwest of Callahan while a statewide Blue Alert was out for McDowell.

    Also included in the evidence were texts back and forth from McDowell and his mother while he was on the run and interviews with McDowell’s girlfriend, Brieana Tole, who tried to help McDowell escape capture. She is not the woman who was in the van with him during the shooting.

    Despite dozens of shots fired in the woods by law enforcement during the early encounter, McDowell was found days later hiding out at a Callahan sports complex with only two minor flesh wounds.

    Tole is accused of driving to the sports complex where McDowell was hiding out in an attempt to get him out of the area and escape arrest, according to an arrest report. She pleaded guilty to being an accessory and is awaiting sentencing. Her next court date is May 4.

    The capture

    In drone video of McDowell’s capture at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex off Ball Park Road, McDowell can be seen crawling out of a concession stand and then being subdued by K-9 Huk.

    Moyers’ handcuffs were used to arrest McDowell, Leeper noted.

    McDowell was treated for a dog bite wound and then transported to UF Health Jacksonville in a Nassau County rescue accompanied by several deputies in cruisers.

    After his arrest, McDowell’s father, Richard, issued a statement to News4JAX.

    “I would like to say that I’m glad no one else got hurt and I hope that it will help Deputy Moyers’ family knowing he’s not still at large,” Richard McDowell said.

    He also said his son was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and other ailments and “turned to drugs” but had been through Veterans Treatment Court and “was doing very well” until the COVID lockdown.

    “I had resigned myself to the fact that he might overdose or take his own life. I never dreamed he would take someone else’s life,” Richard McDowell wrote.

    https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...-guilty-today/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Defense for man charged with murdering Nassau County deputy aims to challenge Florida’s new death penalty law

    By Marilyn Parker
    News4JAX

    NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The attorneys for a man who pleaded guilty to killing a Nassau County deputy in 2021 told the judge Thursday that a motion would be filed arguing that Florida’s newest death penalty law was unconstitutional.

    Patrick McDowell, who admitted to shooting Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers, was not in court but is set for trial in the penalty phase in September.

    The defense will also file an additional motion to require the sentencing guidelines to require a unanimous jury recommendation. As it stands, Florida’s newly updated death penalty law requires only an 8-4 jury vote. When McDowell was initially charged, a jury had to be unanimous in sentencing a person to death.

    McDowell shot Moyers twice during an early morning traffic stop on U.S. 301 on Sept. 23, 2021. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26, 2021.

    Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty if McDowell is convicted.

    A hearing for these motions is scheduled for July.

    The State Attorney’s Office said a challenge to the new law has already been filed with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and denied by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Judge James Daniel acknowledged, “It’s not optimal, as far as having some certainty” as to what the outcome will be. The last thing anyone wants, he said, is to go through a penalty phase and then have to do it twice.

    McDowell also pleaded guilty to injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

    https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...h-penalty-law/

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