JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 17-year-old charged with shooting and killing a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office K-9 during a chase that stemmed from an armed carjacking will be prosecuted as an adult.
Jhamel Paskel is charged with killing a police dog, armed burglary, two counts of kidnapping with a firearm, fleeing a police officer and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent.
Recommended Videos
He appeared in juvenile court Thursday, where a judge revoked his probation. He is expected to be arraigned in felony court Friday.
According to police, Paskel, who was wearing a camo mask and carrying a black handgun, approached two women sitting in a red four-door sedan at a gas pump at the 7-Eleven on Lem Turner Road and made one of them drive as he held her at gunpoint.
Amanda Gears said she was in the driver's seat.
"He pulled a gun out and told me to drive -- 'drive normal,'" Gears said. "We went down a dark road away from streetlights."
RELATED: Woman says man charged with killing K-9 officer held her at gunpoint
A short distance later, police said, Paskel ordered the women out of the car and kept driving.
The car had OnStar, which allowed police to track the vehicle. As officers chased the car, OnStar shut off the engine at Interstate 10 and Cecil Commerce Center Parkway -- about 18 miles away from the gas station.
At that point, Sheriff's Office Lt. Craig Waldrup said, Paskel got out of the car and, as he ran off, one of the officers released his service dog, K-9 Fang.
Police said Paskel fatally shot Fang with a 9 mm handgun and continued running into a wooded area, where was taken down by another service dog and his officer.
According to state of Florida statutes, killing a law enforcement K-9 is a third-degree felony charge that carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
I-TEAM: Should penalties be tougher for those who kill K-9 officers?
Fang was about 3 years old and had been working with the officer for about two years.