NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — The man who killed Nassau County Deputy Josh Moyers and went on the run, resulting in a five-day manhunt, will have his fate decided as the penalty phase of his trial begins.
Patrick McDowell has already pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Moyers. A jury will be tasked with determining if he gets the death penalty or not.
Jury selection begins Friday.
McDowell shot 29-year-old Moyers during a traffic stop just before midnight on Sept. 23, 2021. Bullets struck Moyers in the face and the back.
Moyers was taken to UF Health in Jacksonville and died of his injuries on Sept. 26.
McDowell dropped the passenger in his car off in the middle of the woods and fled, leading police on a five-day manhunt. At one point, he shot a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office K-9 that was attempting to apprehend him, which added charges of aggravated battery on a police dog.
In a symbolic moment, McDowell was finally captured on Sept. 28, and officers used Moyers' handcuffs.
McDowell is a former Marine whose family has spoken with First Coast News about his struggles with PTSD. Both his attorneys and the state agree that his PTSD will be discussed during the trial, and the state has acknowledged in recent hearings that this diagnosis is legitimate.
However, the state plans to argue that McDowell did not shoot Moyers because of his PTSD. Instead, he shot him because he did not want to go to jail. He had been to jail before, spending a year in Georgia prison. He had been arrested several other times, and his father said he struggled with drugs.
The woman who was with McDowell in his car when he shot Moyers told police there were drugs in the car. She said when Moyers pulled them over, McDowell said he would have to run, telling her "I can't go back to jail."
"That's when the officer was like, 'Well let me ask you this, are there any guns in the car?'" the woman said in the interview. "And Pat says 'no' and the officer turns away from the vehicle, I guess to check our IDs, and that's when Pat shot him."