NASSAU COUNTY, Fla — The penalty phase in the trial of the man who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a Nassau County Sheriff's deputy in 2021 began Monday morning.
Patrick McDowell pleaded guilty last year to murdering Nassau County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Moyers, 29, during a 2021 traffic stop. A nearly five-day manhunt ensued following the shooting, during which a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office K-9 was shot when McDowell exchanged gunfire with officers.
In addition to the first-degree murder charge, McDowell also pleaded guilty to one count of using a deadly weapon on a police K-9 and eight counts of aggravated battery on an officer.
McDowell shot Moyers in the face when Moyers initiated a traffic stop on Sandy Ford Road in Callahan just before midnight on Sept. 23, 2021. Moyers died from his injuries at a local hospital three days later.
McDowell was captured on Sept. 28, 2021, after he was found hiding in a concession area of a school's athletic field. He now faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Moyers’ family was in the courtroom Monday sitting with Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper. His mother left the courtroom when police dash camera video of Moyers's murder was shown to jurors.
The video was shown during testimony from the first deputy on the scene the night of the murder, Nassau County Sheriff's Deputy David Barnes. Barnes was only nine months into his first policing job that September, and testified Moyers was the person who introduced him to the field of work and was the first police ride-along he went on before entering the police academy.
Barnes testified he drove up to 136 miles per hour when Moyers requested help over radio at the traffic stop. The dash camera video shows Barnes was less than a minute too late, arriving at the scene less than a minute after Moyers was shot.
“I just found my friend and mentor shot in the face, so I was a little… Trying to calm myself down and do my job at the same time," Barnes told the jury.
On Monday, jurors also heard from the woman who was in McDowell's van, which prosecutors say was stolen when McDowell shot Moyers. Noelle Gale testified she and McDowell smoked meth and were planning to drive to the Florida-Georgia line to shoot guns. She said she and McDowell smoked meth in a gas station parking lot and when they drove off, McDowell said there had been a police officer there.
Gale testified when Moyers was trying to pull them over, McDowell said he didn’t want to go back to jail and didn't want to stop the car, but she convinced him to.
“Because I was also scared and I didn’t want to get into more trouble,” Gale told the jury.
Gale said after the shooting, McDowell told her he was sorry but "it was him or the police officer." Gale testified she was scared as she wiped away a tear.
She then described McDowell grabbing her by the arm and leading her away from the road; she went with him. Prosecutors asked her why.
“I guess out of shock," Gale said. "He grabbed my arm. I didn’t know where I was, in the middle of nowhere.”
Gale said she told McDowell she wanted to go back, that she had a daughter at home and that she wouldn't give the police his name if he let her go back.
"So, you were begging him to let you leave?" the prosecution asked.
"Yes," Gale answered.
Jurors listened to the 911 call Gale made after she and McDowell separated and she turned her phone back on. In the 911 call, Gale is heard hyperventilating and the 911 dispatcher tells her multiple times to calm down. She gave dispatchers McDowell’s name, sounding cooperative.
Jurors also heard testimony from the handler of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 named Chaos Monday, and were shown police body camera video of the night Chaos was shot and video of him entering the emergency veterinarian's office.
Jurors further heard testimony from the K-9 officers named in McDowell’s indictment in the counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The officers described the circumstances in the police body camera video.
The video shows officers using flashlights, walking through a wooded area at night with a police dog. Multiple gunshots are heard. The K-9 officers testified they fired their weapons back because they were in fear for their lives.
First Coast News will be in the courtroom throughout McDowell's sentencing.