NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A man who shot and killed a Nassau County deputy during a traffic stop almost three years ago was sentenced to death by a judge on Wednesday afternoon.
The jury voted 11 to 1 in April to recommend a death sentence for Patrick McDowell, who pleaded guilty to gunning down Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers during a traffic stop in 2021.
But the judge had the final say and he followed the jury’s recommendation.
McDowell himself encouraged jurors to recommend the death penalty for him during his sentencing trial.
“I can’t take away the pain I’ve caused, but I can pay for it. So make me pay for it,” McDowell told the jurors before their near-unanimous vote.
Watch McDowell’s full statement in the video below:
The State Attorney’s Office sent out a statement on the sentencing with a quote from State Attorney Melissa Nelson:
“We thank the jury for their time and diligent attention to this most important matter. Their recommendation recognizes Josh’s service in life as well as the cold and calculated manner of his death. Josh’s family, fiancée, friends, and fellow officers have suffered immense pain from his senseless murder. I hope today’s end of the penalty trial may begin the healing they deserve.”
Deputy Moyers’ family did not want to speak after the sentencing.
McDowell’s attorney Alan Chipperfield said it’s a sad day because of the fact that McDowell is a veteran who served in the Marines in Iraq and came back from the war with PTSD and he now has a death sentence. He said if it weren’t for the PTSD, McDowell would have never been facing these charges.
The courtroom was very quiet and focused on the judge while he was speaking about the mitigating concerns versus the aggravating factors and how he came to his decision of finding the jury’s 11 to 1 decision justified.
McDowell had his hands clasped and looked straight ahead at the judge throughout the 12-minute hearing.
It sounded like a few people from the gallery got emotional when the judge said the jury’s recommendation was justified.
News4JAX asked Chipperfield about his interactions with McDowell for this court hearing.
“Patrick has been a cooperative client throughout. He pled guilty. He knew he had done wrong. He accepted the fact that he was going to be punished. And he knew what the options were. So he’s never been difficult. And he tries to keep the best attitude that he can. And his family helps with that. He has a really close family,” he said.
Gene Nichols, a local defense attorney not affiliated with the case, explained that it is “incredibly rare” to see a case where a judge sets aside a jury recommendation.
“Judges will typically want to side with a jury, especially in a case like this,” Nichols said.
Breiana Tole, who pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for trying to help McDowell escape capture was previously sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of probation.
McDowell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
‘Officer down’
During McDowell’s sentencing trial, dash cam video of the Sept. 23, 2021, traffic stop off U.S. 301 and 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 tried to pull McDowell over after following him from a nearby gas station, McDowell told Gale he wasn’t going to stop.
“I’m not going to jail,” he told her.
But McDowell did eventually stop for Moyers, pulling off U.S. 301 onto Sandy Ford Road, and stopping just short of the railroad tracks.
McDowell said he gave Moyers a false name because he had warrants out for his arrest.
Gale said that when Moyers approached the van asking for their IDs, McDowell reached behind his seat for his handgun but then told Moyers there were no guns in the van when the deputy asked.
Moyers learned the tag on the burgundy-colored minivan belonged to a different vehicle, and investigators later learned the vehicle had been stolen from Jacksonville.
Right after McDowell handed over what Gale thought was an ID, the railroad crossing arms suddenly activated with bells ringing and lights flashing.
The video shows Moyers turn to look at the crossing arms for a split second, and when he turned back, McDowell had a gun in his face and pulled the trigger, shooting Moyers just below his eye.
The video from Moyers’ dash cam shows McDowell quickly leaning out of the van and firing again at Moyers, hitting him in the back. Then he slams on the gas and speeds through the railroad crossing as the arms come down.
WATCH: Recording of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers pulling over Patrick McDowell
Nassau County Deputy Barnes arrived about 30 seconds later and found his friend and mentor lying on the ground, shot in the face.
Barnes’ frantic “Officer Down” down call can be heard on Moyers’ dash cam video.
RELATED: Traffic stop to trauma scene: Desperate efforts to save Deputy Joshua Moyers revealed in reports
The manhunt
Gale testified that McDowell thought Moyers was calling for backup.
“(He) didn’t want to go back to jail,” Gale said. “He said he was going to run from the cop.”
Gale testified that after McDowell shot the deputy and drove away, she told him she wanted out and he grabbed her by the arm, they ran into a wooded area, and she told him she wanted to go back. He let her go, and she called 911. McDowell ran the other way, sparking a five-day manhunt.
More than 200 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers searched for days for McDowell in the Nassau County woods.
Body camera video from Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 Chaos’ handler, Officer Dale Cullen, was also shown in court. The video shows K-9 Chaos picking up McDowell’s trail in the woods in the hours after the shooting.
Cullen lets Chaos go when he realizes the dog might have found something in the woods. And then Chaos starts barking.
“Two gunshots rang out. Heard Chaos yelp. Thinking Chaos’ been hit, and I returned fire -- 18 rounds to what I thought was gunshots coming toward me,” Cullen said.
Multiple officers joined Cullen and fired their rifles into the darkness.
This encounter is what led to McDowell’s injuring a police dog charge and the eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The capture
Tole, McDowell’s friend, was 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.
Despite the dozens of shots fired in the woods by law enforcement during the encounter with K-9 Chaos, when McDowell was found days later, he had only two minor flesh wounds.
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.
McDowell was treated for a dog bite wound and then transported to UF Health Jacksonville -- wearing Deputy Moyers’ handcuffs.
The aftermath
The sentencing hearing also included emotional testimony from Moyers’ family, including his fiancée, brother and mother, about what it was like for them when Moyers died days after the shooting at the hospital.
A victim advocate read a powerful statement from Moyers’ fiancée, Ivy Carter, who said Moyers lived and breathed law enforcement and that she spent many nights not worrying about if something would happen, but when.
Now, Carter said, she is left praying and asking God to help her get over the hatred and honor his memory.
Moyers’ brother, Jordan, was visibly angry on the stand, and his testimony brought tears to some jurors’ eyes.
Jordan Moyers spoke about his profound grief and about how the loss affected more than his family.
“When Josh was murdered, this community lost a great cop, a civil servant who cared for people, for his community, and for making it a better place. I’m not the only one sharing in this loss. And when Josh was murdered, I lost my brother and it has torn every aspect of my life into shreds,” Jordan Moyers said. “I never left the hospital; I feel like a part of me is still there sometimes.”
Victim impact statements ended with Moyers’ mother, Brenda, who talked about their special bond and how he had so much more to live for.
“He deserved so much more,” she said. “It’s a horrible nightmare as parents as our child was brutally murdered while he protected the community he loved and called home.”
After the jury recommended the death penalty for McDowell, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper expressed gratitude, saying the sheriff’s office still deals with the tragedy of Moyers’ death.
“Lord willing when this death sentence is carried out, I’ll be sitting on the front row with a box of popcorn, eagerly waiting for him to take his last breath,” Leeper said. “It just ripped the guts out of our agency, out of our employees. The dispatchers who had to hear the cries for help on the radio, the deputies who responded, who tried to save Josh’s life. That’s something to live with forever.”