NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — On Tuesday, family members of the Nassau County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed during a 2021 traffic stop expressed their grief to the jury that will decide if the man who pleaded guilty to killing him will live or die.
Patrick McDowell pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers, 29, during a traffic stop in Callahan. He also pleaded guilty to shooting a police K-9 during a nearly five-day manhunt.
The court took a break in the death penalty trial Wednesday, and have resumed Thursday morning, as McDowell took the stand.
Defense's opening statements
In the courtroom on Wednesday, McDowell’s defense attorneys walked jurors through McDowell’s life, describing his military accolades as an awarded radio operator with the Marines followed by the violent war zones he was in and the PTSD he battles with.
Defense attorneys described the war zones he was in, in which he was instructed to be ready to kill everyone he met, unable to tell who was an enemy and who was a friend.
McDowell's attorneys told jurors about IUD (improvised explosive devices) attacks, and said McDowell witnessed soldiers without heads or limbs.
Defense attorneys continued to describe McDowell's PTSD, nightmares, and change in behavior he went through after his second military deployment. They say he then became addicted to drugs during a new relationship and got into trouble with the law – at one point sitting in jail in Georgia for a year for a misdemeanor because they say his father wanted him to get off drugs. They say he later relapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His defense attorneys ended their opening statements by telling the jury his military service and deployments, should be of great weight.
“We as a society should not sentence him to death,” Chipperfield said. “Life without parole doesn’t reward him for that service, it is a recognition of the service.”
Cross-examination of McDowell
When McDowell was called to the stand, Prosecutors questioned McDowell about his drug use, saying using drugs was a decision he made and his family had been trying to help him but he "turned his back" on them. Prosecutors said McDowell received more attention than other people from drug treatment court advocates.
McDowell said he acknowledged Moyers with a head nod while exiting the gas station where Moyers first saw him before he drove off and the traffic stop took place. McDowell said because of the meth he’d just done, he did something illogical and got into his stolen van that had drugs in it.
McDowell testified he checked the chamber of his gun to make sure it was loaded before shooting Moyers.
"I did that without a single ... single thought of taking a man's life, I was 100 percent focused solely on myself," McDowell said.
“Cold, calculated, premeditated,” said Prosecutor Mark Caliel.
McDowell agreed, saying he never parked his car.
McDowell testified he was at first planning to run, then try to talk his way out of the traffic stop, but then realized that would not work.
“You decided your freedom was worth more than the life of Deputy Moyers,” said Caliel.
“No sir, I didn’t even consider his life…” McDowell said.
“Because you said it was either him or you?” asked Caliel.
“Yes, sir,” McDowell answered.
Recap of Day 2 - Tuesday
On Tuesday, Moyers’s parents, brother and fiancé told jurors about the grief that’s taken over their lives. Some of the jurors cried as they spoke.
Moyers’s fiancé, Ivy Carter, described what she called the best day of her life. It was the day Moyers proposed to her and reserved a beach on an island during their vacation to surprise her. Her words were read by a victim advocate with the State Attorney's Office. She wrote that she felt like everything has been taken from her and her whole life has been turned upside down.
Moyers’s brother described childhood memories that are now marred by ones from the night his brother was murdered. He said he had to quit his job because he broke down in grief dozens of times and would have to leave work.
Moyers’s father had to take a moment to collect himself on the stand. Moyers’s mother said she’s been in physical therapy for the stress her son’s murder has caused her body. She read passages from her journal of times she's seen other men with red hair who reminded her of her son.
Earlier Tuesday, jurors got an inside look at the SWAT team and federal law enforcement intelligence that went into McDowell's apprehension. Jurors and both Moyers’ and McDowell’s families were in the courtroom learning new details about McDowell’s capture in a Callahan baseball concession area.
Moyers’ parents left the courtroom for the medical examiner’s testimony in which graphic photos were shown.
Jurors also heard testimony from McDowell’s probation officer as well as his friend, Patrick Fowler, whom McDowell met at a firearms store in the early-2010s, and recruited McDowell for airsoft team competitions, which are realistic combat scenarios.
Editor's note: Watch day 3 of the sentencing phase in McDowell's trial in the above video player or YouTube video below.
