Deputy Joshua Moyers Biography – Wiki
Deputy Joshua Moyers was a Florida sheriff’s deputy who will not survive being shot during a traffic stop, medics said Saturday.
Deputy Joshua Moyers was shot in the face and back Friday morning outside Jacksonville after arresting Patrick McDowell.
The 35-year-old suspect was driving a stolen vehicle and is still a fugitive, cops said.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said doctors determined they “just couldn’t do anything for Josh.”
Moyers remains alive until a match can be found for his organs, which will be donated.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for McDowell, who is believed to have shot a police dog following him in a rural area, according to The Florida Times-Union.
Age
Deputy Joshua Moyer has died at the age of 29-years-old.
Shot & Killed
A Florida sheriff’s deputy will not survive a gunshot during a traffic stop, medics said Saturday.
Deputy Joshua Moyers, 29, was shot in the face and back Friday morning outside Jacksonville after arresting Patrick McDowell.
The 35-year-old suspect was driving a stolen vehicle and is still a fugitive, cops said.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said doctors determined they “just couldn’t do anything for Josh.”
Moyers remains alive until a match can be found for his organs, which will be donated.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for McDowell, who is believed to have shot a police dog following him in a rural area, according to The Florida Times-Union.
“They’re some of the best of the best, and there was nothing they could do for Josh,” Leeper said.
He said the family, including Moyers’ fiancé, have decided to donate his organs to keep him alive until a match is found.
“Now they are in the process of finding receptors for those organs and they will follow that process,” Leeper said. “But sadly, Rep. Moyers is not going to survive.”
Leeper said Moyers will be the third deputy to lose in the line of duty since he became a sheriff, and the second this year. Congressman Jack Gwynes died of complications from COVID-19 in February.
“It’s not something any law enforcement agency wants to go through,” Leeper said. “That is part of the work we do. We never know what will happen when we leave the house that morning. This was just a traffic stop and it turned out to be a murder of the officer. ”
Leeper said the entire incident was recorded by a Nassau County Sheriff’s Office camera.
Suspect
The 35-year-old suspect was driving a stolen vehicle and is still a fugitive, cops said. Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said doctors determined they “just couldn’t do anything for Josh.” Moyers remains alive until a match can be found for his organs, which will be donated.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for McDowell, who is believed to have shot a police dog following him in a rural area, according to The Florida Times-Union.
“This guy is dangerous. If you’re in a house and he breaks into your house and you have a gun, blow him out the door because he’s like a rabid animal, “Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said, according to the newspaper.
“He will kill you with the way you think about him. What he did to that deputy was unnecessary, unnecessary and he has to pay for it. ”
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting. A sheriff’s spokeswoman said Patrick McDowell (pictured below) is considered “armed and dangerous.” If she sees him, he is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 904-548-4000.
A woman inside the vehicle with McDowell during the traffic stop is cooperating with investigators, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and state patrol personnel have been seen searching along U.S. Highway. 301 near Higginbotham Road and Sandy Ford Road since early Friday morning.
Leeper said a JSO K9 who came to assist in the search for the suspect was also shot but is expected to recover.
Traffic Stop Turns Violent
Leeper said Moyers stopped a burgundy minivan early Friday morning on US 301, and McDowell, who was driving, turned onto Sandy Ford Road before stopping right in front of some railroad tracks. A woman was in the passenger seat of the truck, Leeper said when Moyers learned that McDowell, who gave him a false name, did not have a driver’s license and that the tag on the truck belonged to a different vehicle.
Leeper said investigators later learned that the vehicle had been stolen from Jacksonville.
Leeper said the encounter, which was captured on dashcam video, turned violent when Moyers went to open the driver’s door and pull McDowell out of the truck, just as a train was beginning to roll down the tracks. He said the lights and flashing lights at the train crossing began to go out, and that’s when McDowell’s arm came out of the vehicle holding a gun and shot the officer in the face.
When the officer fell to the ground, Leeper said, McDowell reached out and shot him in the back before stepping on the gas and accelerating through the railroad crossing just as they lowered their arms.
Leeper said the backup aide Moyers had called arrived about 30 seconds later and found him lying on the road.
Deputy a ‘Great Guy
Moyers was hired as a Nassau County deputy in 2015 and Leeper called him “a great guy.”
Leeper said Moyers recently got engaged to be married.
Leeper visited Moyers in the hospital and met with her fiancé and her parents.
Several Nassau County deputies, some in dress uniforms, stood guard outside the UF Health emergency room Friday morning waiting for news of their partner.
“Officers will support each other at times like this,” said News4Jax crime and security expert Ken Jefferson. “They will be here and they are here to provide that peace in that comfort, as much as possible. They are praying for each other. They are praying for the family. ”
Moyers graduated in 2010 from Hilliard Middle-Senior High School and received training in law enforcement at St. Johns River State College. The Sheriff’s Office said Moyers spent two years with the county’s Explorer program before he was hired as a deputy. He received an award in 2018 for going beyond the call of duty in a narcotics case.
Community Rallies
First Baptist Church of Yulee posted on Facebook that it was offering prayers for Moyers, who had sat outside their worship service on many Sundays, calling him a “great young deputy.”
“First Baptist joins in prayer for Deputy Moyers, his fiance of him and his parents of him knowing God is able to heal and deliver. We also are praying for Sheriff Leeper and the entire Nassau County Sheriff Department! #weareone ”
Leeper said there’s been an outpouring of support from the community as people feel the need to show they care.
“We would like to have their prayers for Deputy Moyers and his family from him and all people in law enforcement. They need their prayers now especially, ”Leeper said.
He called it a blessing to have grown up in the Nassau County community and to now lead the Sheriff’s Office to protect the county’s citizens.
Callahan Mayor Matthew Davis released a statement Saturday afternoon:
The entire community of Callahan, all our thoughts and prayers, are pouring out for Deputy Moyers, his fiancé de él, and the entire Nassau County Sheriffs Department family. Callahan proudly stands ready to support our law enforcement family in this time of great sadness and loss. I want to thank Sheriff Leeper, all of our Nassau County deputies, and all of the responding agencies woa Yulee’s First Baptist Church posted on Facebook that he was offering prayers for Moyers, who had sat outside his worship service many Sundays, calling him a “great young deputy”.
“First Baptist joins in prayer for Rep. Moyers, his fiancé, and his parents knowing that God can heal and deliver. We are also praying for Sheriff Leeper and the entire Nassau County Sheriff’s Department! #we are one”
Leeper said there has been a great deal of support from the community as people feel the need to show that they care.
“We would like to have your prayers for Rep. Moyers and his family and all the people in law enforcement. They especially need his prayers now, ”Leeper said.
He said it was a blessing to have grown up in the Nassau County community and now lead the Sheriff’s Office to protect the citizens of the county.
Callahan Mayor Matthew Davis released a statement Saturday afternoon:
The entire Callahan community, all our thoughts, and prayers are pouring out for Representative Moyers, his fiancé, and the entire Nassau County Sheriff’s Department family. Callahan is proud to stand ready to support our law enforcement family in this time of great sadness and loss. I want to thank Sheriff Leeper, all of our Nassau County deputies, and all responding agencies working diligently to catch a killer on the loose in our community. God, we pray for justice for Rep. Moyer, the safety of our community, and the protection of all officers in the relentless pursuit of him .rking diligently to catch a murderer on the loose in our community. God, we pray for justice for Deputy Moyer, the safety of our community, and the protection of all the officers on their relentless pursuit.
