Suspect captured in killing of off-duty Florida sheriff's deputy who attempted to intervene in a domestic violence incident
A suspect in the killing of an off-duty Florida sheriff's deputy, who was gunned down at a truck stop while trying to intervene in a domestic battery incident, was captured Sunday in North Carolina, authorities said.
The suspect, 29-year-old Demaurea Grant, was taken into custody without incident around 7:30 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals Service's Fugitive Task Force at a home in Gastonia, North Carolina, about 400 miles from where he allegedly fatally shot Deputy Brad McNew, a corrections officer for the Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office, officials said.
"As the leader of this agency, I'm grateful for the quick arrest of a man who tragically took the life of a member of the JSO family," Jacksonville County Sheriff T.K. Waters said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Waters said McNew, a 24-year veteran of the sheriff's department, had just completed his shift when he allegedly encountered Grant at a truck stop in Jacksonville and tried to help a woman Grant was allegedly battering near the gas pumps.
"Today's arrest is about accountability for a person who senselessly took the life of a man attempting to help another human being," Waters said.
Grant's arrest came about 30 hours after witnesses told investigators they saw the suspect lean out the passenger-side window of a black 2000 Ford Mustang, which was being driven by the woman McNew witnessed getting beaten at the truck stop, and open fire on the deputy, officials said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office had issued a notice for law enforcement agencies nationwide to be on the lookout for the Mustang with North Carolina license plates as a massive search for the suspect was launched, officials said.
Waters said Grant was arrested on charges of murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm in public.
"Grant is a convicted felon with a violent criminal history," Waters said.
Waters said a woman, believed to be the one Grant was seen allegedly abusing, was arrested along with Grant on charges related to another crime in North Carolina. Waters did not provide details on the North Carolina crime or release the woman's name.
The shooting unfolded about 1:20 a.m. Saturday at a Love's Truck Stop in north Jacksonville, Deputy Chief Alan Parker of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said during a news conference on Saturday.
Parker said McNew had just gotten off work and was not in uniform when he stopped at the truck stop just as Grant and his female companion were having a loud argument near the gas pumps.
Waters said the suspect, according to witness statements that were corroborated by security video, got out of the Mustang, put a firearm on the hood of the vehicle and pulled the woman out of the driver's seat.
"He pushed her against the car, looks like he put his hand around her neck," Waters said of the suspect.
Parker added that when McNew approached the pair, he asked the woman, "Are you alright?" He said the suspect responded, telling McNew: "It's family business, stay out of it."
The suspect then went back to the woman and started arguing again as she was grabbing him in an attempt to get him back into the Mustang, Parker said.
Parker said the suspect picked up the gun he left on the hood and pointed it at McNew, but didn't fire.
He said the man and the woman got back into the Mustang.
"They end up leaving; she's driving the vehicle," Parker said. "The male, according to witnesses that we've talked to here at the scene, hangs out the other window and shoots multiple times, striking our off-duty officer."
McNew was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Parker said.
"He's the epitome of what we expect from a law enforcement professional. That is, he was off duty, he was in plainclothes, he saw something happening, he tried to intervene, which is the absolute right thing to do as a decent human being and not only that, but as a professional," Waters said of McNew. "Unfortunately, this clown decided to take his life. But I'm glad that he's going to have to answer for his decision."
