ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A Palatka man is charged with attempted murder of a police officer after he fired shots at a St. Augustine police officer in her patrol car responding to a report of a man firing shot in the middle of Anastasia Boulevard early Sunday morning, according to the police department.
According to the arrest report, Charles Deonte Patten, 32, fired a handgun at Officer Lora Vaughan as she arrived in the area near Osteen's Restaurant in her marked patrol car just after 2 a.m. Police said Patten fell over as Vaughan's patrol car drove toward him and fired another round, then got up and ran down an alley behind businesses, where other officers were able to order Patten to surrender. Patten raised his hands and was taken into custody.
A witness said that she thought someone was lighting of fireworks about 2 a.m. and went out to see what was happening and quickly realized it was someone in the middle of the street firing a gun. She continued watching as police took the gunman into custody.
"You could tell that they weren't trying to fire at the guy, they just wanted to get it under control," she told News4Jax.
Police said witnesses reported hearing eight or 10 shots fired before police arrived, but no members of the public or officers were hurt.
Police said they found a handgun in his pocket. Another handgun was found in the alley he ran down before being captured, according to police.
"Officers put their training into motion and worked just the way they are trained," said Mark Samson, public information officer with the St. Augustine. "Everything worked out for everyone in this situation."
In addition to attempted murder, Patton was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was booked into the St. Johns County jail and ordered held without bond.
Patten has a history of drug, theft and firearms arrests in the Atlanta area. Police said they don't have any idea why he was in St. Augustine or what caused him to go out into the street in the middle of the night and start firing a gun.