- April 23, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
UPDATED at 2:30 p.m. Monday
A former Flagler Beach police officer was arrested early Saturday morning on an attempted murder charge after shooting a Flagler County firefighter in what authorities are calling a road rage incident.
Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Robbery/Homicide Unit arrested Nathaniel David Juratovac, 40, of St. Augustine, early Saturday after questioning and charging him in connection with the incident.
The investigation began shortly before 8 p.m. Friday, when deputies responded to U.S. 1 south, just north of Watson Road, in reference to an alleged road rage shooting incident.
The victim, identified as Jared Parkey, 30, of St. Augustine, had sustained at least two gunshot wounds and was airlifted to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, where he was treated and released. Both the victim and suspect, who were driving northbound on U.S. 1, had other family members in their respective vehicles.
Parkey is a Flagler County firefighter.
According to a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office report, Juratovac brake-checked Parkey for following too closely behind. The two then began to drive in an aggressive manner.
Parkey later admitted that he threw a water jug at Juratovac's car. A witness stated at the scene Friday night that both Parkey and Juratovac collided and pulled off to the side of the road. The witness said that once the cars came to a stop, Juratovac exited his vehicle, walked over to the driver's side of Parkey's vehicle, and shot him.
Juratovac told deputies the night of the incident that "(someone) from the other vehicle involved threw an object at my vehicle then hit my vehicle. When we came to a stop, the driver ran up to my car, and I shot him."
One of the individuals in Juratovac's vehicle is a member of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and was a witness to the incident, deputies said.
Parkey's wife and daughter were inside the vehicle during the incident.
The northbound lane of U.S. 1 was closed for nearly six hours as detectives and crime scene technicians processed the scene.
Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito said several firefighters from Flagler County visited Parkey in Jacksonville Friday night.
"We were relieved to hear the wounds suffered were not life threatening," Petito said of Parkey's injuries. "Jared was released from the hospital earlier this morning and is home with his family resting and beginning his recovery. We will give Jared the time he needs to recover from this traumatic experience and wish him a speedy recovery. We will also offer the help he and his family may need during his recovery."
This isn't Juratovac's first run-in with the law. In 2008, he was acquitted of perjury and other charges in connection to a 2005 incident involving jail inmate abuse and the state attorney's daughter.
