NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Defense attorneys began their attempt Thursday to convince a Nassau County jury not to send Patrick McDowell to Death Row for the murder of Deputy Joshua Moyers.
McDowell insisted on taking the stand in his own defense and apologized to Moyers’ family before sharing chilling details of the night he fatally shot the deputy during a traffic stop in September 2021.
Following McDowell’s testimony, several members of his family took the stand, including his father, mother, grandfather and grandmother. His mother, who lives out of state, testified via Zoom.
McDowell’s father, Richard, said he encouraged his son to get help coping with Post-Traumatic Stress from his time serving in Iraq.
“I wanted the counseling to come from (mentors) instead of me because I thought it would be more effective over listening to his old man,” Richard McDowell said.
He testified that he noticed his son was struggling, but said things really changed when COVID hit.
McDowell’s mental health and documented Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are expected to be front and center as the defense continues to make its case for McDowell to be sentenced to life in prison.
Testimony from Patrick McDowell’s grandmother, Cindy Pavelonis, and best friend, Sean Bonwell, centered on his character.
Pavelonis said McDowell was a hands-on father to his son, who is now 13 years old and testified Friday on his father’s behalf.
Bonwell said McDowell was his protector when they were children.
“As a younger child especially in grade school, I was shorter, overweight, wore glasses. I’m half-Black in a predominantly white town. I used to get picked on,” Bonwell said. “Patrick would stand up for me quite frequently.”
McDowell pleaded guilty a little over a year ago to first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The Sept. 23, 2021, fatal shooting during a traffic stop was captured on Moyers’ dash cam. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26, 2021.
McDowell’s other charges stemmed from an encounter in the woods during a manhunt, which ended after five days when McDowell was found hiding out in a bathroom building at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2021.
‘I’ll never forgive myself’
McDowell began his testimony on Thursday by apologizing to Moyers’ family.
“I took the life of a man that was better than me. I’ll never forgive myself for that,” McDowell said.
He said he remembers the night of the shooting vividly and relives it often.
“It makes me physically sick to think about it,” he said. “There is nothing worse you can do than take a man’s life for doing his job.”
McDowell said he was a coward that day and that Moyers did his job so well that the deputy knew McDowell was up to no good with “one look.” He said Moyers was polite and friendly and nothing he did provoked his actions.
McDowell also apologized to the community for the fear he created during the five-day manhunt following Moyers’ shooting.
“My family is going to be dealing with the shame from this probably forever,” he said.
During the testimony, Moyers’ family members, many of whom shared their own emotional testimony this week, were brought to tears.
During cross-examination, McDowell gave chilling insight into his thought process during the moments before and after he shot and killed Moyers and then went on the run.
Death penalty
Before the defense began Thursday, Judge James Daniel announced that one of the jurors had been excused after getting food poisoning. He also denied a defense motion for a mistrial.
The jury must decide whether or not to recommend the death penalty for McDowell, and Daniel decided earlier this month that Florida’s current death penalty recommendation rules would apply in the case, meaning prosecutors only need eight jurors to agree to recommend the death penalty.