CALLAHAN, Fla. — It took five days, hundreds of personnel and immeasurable courage for authorities to finally capture Patrick McDowell, the former Marine accused of shooting Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers.
McDowell shot Deputy Moyers during a traffic stop early Friday morning in a rural area of Nassau County. Moyers died of his wounds two days later at a Jacksonville hospital.
First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Mark Baughman, who has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, said he commends all involved in the manhunt for their diligent work, especially considering the scale of the search.
"They quadrant off an area, you had 15 to 20 different agencies assisting, and they never gave up the scope of looking for him," Baughman said. "You know they're tired. You know it's been a lot on them."
Indeed, the hundreds of officers from around Florida and even from Georgia played a crucial role in allowing authorities to cover more areas while cutting off possible escape routes.
"Even with that many people, and the growing numbers, they kept growing daily to search for him, yeah, they were still tired," Baughman said. "But like [Sheriff Bill Leeper] said, they were not going to give up."
On Saturday, Sheriff Leeper announced authorities would focus their search on a five square-mile, 3,000-acre area where they believed Patrick McDowell was hiding. However, some people questioned whether, after multiple days of searching, he would still be in that area.
Ultimately, within that search area was where authorities found McDowell, who surrendered to authorities. Baughman said the fact that he was found in the area established days ago speaks to the confidence Sheriff Leeper had that they were closing in on their target.
"I think they felt good that he was still there," Baughman explained. "You just had a vast area that you had to cover, it was going to take some time. That's for sure. And it did. It took five days. But it resulted in his apprehension."
Baughman also commented on the professionalism the officers used in not shooting McDowell on sight despite the emotions of the manhunt.
"With the slightest provocation, they could have used deadly force. And they didn't," he said. "They used great restraint. After that period of time, I commend them for that."
However, with the capture of Patrick McDowell, his long road through the legal process begins. And for the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, that starts with interrogation, hoping to find out why he allegedly killed Deputy Moyers, especially considering the charges McDowell would have allegedly faced during the traffic stop.
"I'm just wondering what provoked him to come to that point, to do what he did, senselessly and ruthlessly, that he just took Deputy Moyers' life with no regard," Baughman said.
Though Baughman has not seen the dashcam video depicting the shooting, he has had the events of the video described to him and believes Baughman will be indicted on first-degree murder charges.
"What I've been told was just how callous it was done. It was premeditated, first-degree murder," he said. "There's no doubt about it based upon the way he did, where he placed the rounds in Deputy Moyers. He shot another round in his back. His intent was to kill him from the get-go."
As of Tuesday evening, Patrick McDowell is in the hospital in serious condition and has not been booked in the Nassau County Jail.