Murderer of Nassau County deputy sentenced Wednesday after jury recommends death penalty

NASSAU COUNTY, Florida. – A man who shot and killed a Nassau County police officer during a traffic stop nearly three years ago will learn his fate Wednesday.

In April, the jury voted 11-1 to recommend the death penalty for Patrick McDowell, who pleaded guilty to shooting Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers during a traffic stop in 2021.

However, the judge has the final say.

He can follow the jury’s recommendation or commute McDowell’s death sentence to life in prison without parole.

McDowell himself asked the jury during the sentencing hearing to recommend the death penalty for him.

“I can’t take away the pain I caused, but I can pay for it. So let me pay for it,” McDowell told jurors before their nearly unanimous vote.

RELATED: He was high and driving a stolen van. He nodded to a deputy at a gas station in Callahan. Minutes later, the deputy was murdered.

Watch McDowell’s full statement in the video below:

Gene Nichols, a local criminal defense attorney not involved in the case, said it is “incredibly rare” for a judge to override a jury’s recommendation.

“Judges usually want to side with a jury, especially in a case like this,” Nichols said. “It’s happened in the past, but with such a strong defendant base and based on the evidence that came to light in this case, I would be very surprised if the court overturned this death sentence.”

RELATED | Drug use, PTSD and military service affected Patrick McDowell’s mental state the night he killed the deputy, an expert says

Breiana Tole pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for attempting to help McDowell escape. She was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of probation.

McDowell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of a police officer, wounding a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.

“Officer on the ground”

During McDowell’s criminal trial, dashcam video of the September 23, 2021, traffic stop off U.S. 301, as well as testimony from McDowell and Noelle Gale – a woman who was in the van with McDowell – painted a vivid picture of what happened the night Moyers was murdered.

When Moyers attempted to stop McDowell after following him from a nearby gas station, McDowell told Gale that he was not going to stop.

“I’m not going to jail,” he told her.

But McDowell eventually stopped for Moyers, exiting US 301 onto Sandy Ford Road and stopping just short of the railroad tracks.

McDowell said he gave Moyers a false name because there were warrants for his arrest.

Gale said when Moyers approached the van and asked for their identification, McDowell reached behind his seat for his gun, but then told Moyers when the deputy asked him that there were no weapons in the van.

Moyers determined that the burgundy minivan’s license plate belonged to another vehicle, and investigators later learned that the vehicle had been stolen in Jacksonville.

Immediately after McDowell handed over what Gale thought was an ID, the railroad crossing gates suddenly activated: bells rang and lights flashed.

The video shows Moyers turning around and looking down at his crossed arms for a split second. When he turned back around, McDowell pointed a gun at his face and pulled the trigger, hitting Moyers just below the eye.

Video from Moyers’ dashboard camera shows McDowell quickly leaning out of the car and shooting Moyers again, hitting him in the back, then putting the car on full throttle and speeding through the railroad crossing as the guns come down.

REGARD: Shot of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers stopping Patrick McDowell

Nassau County Deputy Barnes arrived about 30 seconds later and found his friend and mentor lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the face.

Moyers’ dashcam video captures Barnes’ panicked shout of “Officer Down.”

RELATED: Traffic stop at accident scene: Reports reveal desperate efforts to save Deputy Joshua Moyers

The manhunt

Gale testified that McDowell believed Moyers was calling for backup.

“He didn’t want to go back to jail,” Gale said. “He said he was running from the cop.”

Gale testified that after McDowell shot the deputy and drove away, she told him she wanted out, so he grabbed her arm and they ran into a wooded area, where she told him she wanted to go back. He let her go and she called 911. McDowell ran in the other direction, sparking a five-day manhunt.

More than 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers searched the woods of Nassau County for days for McDowell.

Also shown in court was body camera video from Officer Dale Cullen, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office handler K-9 Chaos. The video shows K-9 Chaos tracking McDowell in the woods in the hours following the shooting.

Cullen lets Chaos go when he realizes the dog might have found something in the woods. And then Chaos starts barking.

“Two shots rang out. I heard Chaos scream. I thought Chaos had been hit and I returned fire – 18 shots at what I thought were gunshots coming at me,” Cullen said.

Several officers joined Cullen, firing their guns into the darkness.

This encounter resulted in McDowell being charged with injury to a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.

The recording

According to a police report, Tole, a friend of McDowell, was accused of driving to the sports complex where McDowell was hiding in an attempt to get the suspect out of the area and help him evade arrest.

Although police fired dozens of shots in the woods during the encounter with police dog Chaos, McDowell had only two minor flesh wounds when he was found days later.

Drone video of McDowell’s arrest at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex near Ball Park Road shows McDowell crawling out of a concession stand and then being subdued by K-9 Huk.

McDowell was treated for a dog bite wound and then transported to UF Health Jacksonville, handcuffed by Deputy Moyers.

The consequences

The verdict also featured emotional statements from Moyers’ family, including his fiancée, brother and mother, describing how they felt when Moyers died in the hospital a few days after the shooting.

A victim advocate read a powerful statement from Moyers’ fiancée, Ivy Carter, who said Moyers lived and breathed law enforcement and spent many nights not worrying about If something would happen, but When.

Now, Carter said, all she can do is pray and ask God to help her overcome the hatred and honor his memory.

Moyer’s brother Jordan was visibly angry on the witness stand and his testimony brought tears to the eyes of some jurors.

Jordan Moyers spoke about his deep sadness and that the loss affected more than just his family.

“When Josh was murdered, this community lost a great police officer, an officer who cared about people, about his community and about making it a better place. I’m not the only one who has suffered that loss. And when Josh was murdered, I lost my brother, and that tore every aspect of my life to pieces,” Jordan Moyers said. “I never left the hospital; sometimes I feel like part of me is still there.”

The victim impact statements concluded with Moyers’ mother, Brenda, speaking about their special bond and how there was so much more to live for.

“He deserved so much more,” she said. “It’s a terrible nightmare for us as parents because our child was brutally murdered while protecting the community he loved and that was his home.”

After the jury recommended the death penalty for McDowell, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper expressed his gratitude and said the sheriff’s office is still dealing with the tragedy of Moyers’ death.

“God willing, when this death sentence is carried out, I will be sitting in the front row with a bag of popcorn, impatiently waiting for him to take his last breath,” Leeper said. “It’s heartbroken for our agency and our staff. The dispatchers who had to hear the calls for help over the radio, the officers who responded and tried to save Josh’s life. That’s something you have to live with forever.”