JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The suspect charged with the shooting death of a JSO corrections officer has prior convictions for felonies he committed in North Carolina.
According to police, the man seen in surveillance video pointing a gun and ultimately shooting a JSO officer is 29-year-old Demaurea Grant. This is not the first time Grant has be violent towards a member of law enforcement, according to his criminal record.
Grant was on parole after being released in March of this year. Police say he shot and killed Officer Bradley McNew Saturday morning at a Love's Truck Stop on Jacksonville's Northside. He then fled to North Carolina, where he was arrested.
Police say McNew, a 24-year veteran with JSO, was off duty when he tried to intervene in a domestic dispute between Grant and an unnamed woman. Police say McNew yelled out to check on the woman and Grant pointed a weapon in the direction.
Grant pointed a weapon in the direction of McNew after he yelled out to check on the woman, police said.
According to police, Grant shot McNew from a car as it was leaving the truck stop. Grant was arrested Monday morning in North Carolina, where police believe he fled following the shooting.
Sherrif TK Waters said during a press conference on Monday that he believes Grant traveled to Jacksonville to get away from issues in his home state of North Carolina.
"Most likely may have even been running from maybe an ongoing investigation or some type of charge that existed, was going to come down on him so he could have been in a fugitive or soon to be in a fugitive status," Mark Baughman, FCN crime and safety expert, said.
According to his criminal record from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, he was convicted in 2022 for assaulting an officer. Back in 2015, Grant was convicted of a slew of felonies including kidnapping, common law robbery, larceny of a vehicle, and assault.
Baughman says this past could eliminate any possibility of a minimum sentence or parole as he faces the charges related to the death of Officer McNew.
“So the fact that he's on parole, most people that are on parole in just about every state I know, have to report him the parole officers," Baughman said. "Obviously has real issues with authority is a dangerous individual and should be incarcerated.”
Grant currently faces charges of murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm in public.