JSO: Suspect killed in police shooting said he would kill officers, teen killed in separate police shooting was armed with BB gun

Jacksonville, FL — A day after two fatal police-involved shootings in Jacksonville, police are giving more insight on what they say led up to shots being fired.

WOKV first reported Wednesday about a shooting on Dunn Avenue, where a suspect was killed while police were investigating a suspicious vehicle. That suspect has now been identified as 43-year-old Jason Connell, who has an extensive criminal history in Georgia and had several active warrants right now.

Police say 12-year veteran Officer C.K. Jimenez and Officer J.E. Stillwell, who is in field training, were proactively patrolling the parking lot of a Motel 6 on Dunn Avenue, to both look for anything suspicious and provide an active presence to deter crime. They saw a vehicle with the trunk open, and JSO says the license plate came back as belonging to another vehicle, and the VIN came back to a vehicle stolen from Bibb County, GA.

JSO Assistant Chief Scott Dingee says a woman approached the officers and told them the vehicle belonged to her boyfriend. That woman resisted Stillwell as he put her in handcuffs because of their investigation in to the stolen vehicle, at which point JSO says Jimenez saw the suspect approach, while holding a large black purse and concealing his hand. JSO initially believed there was a physical struggle between Jimenez and Connell, but they have since determined that did not take place.

“As the suspect got within approximately five feet of Officer Jimenez, the suspect dropped the bag, produced a revolver, and fired one time at Officer Jimenez. Officer Jimenez then returned fire with his departmentally-issued handgun, expending 15 rounds, striking the suspect multiple times,” Dingee says.

Connell was pronounced dead on the scene.

JSO says Connell was actively wanted in Georgia for parole violation and charges relating to the carjacking of the suspicious vehicle, including aggravated assault. Dingee says Connell had told family that he was not going to go back to prison, and that he would kill police and others if he was confronted.

“We believe if Officer Jimenez had not been alert in seeing the suspect approaching, the suspect would have shot one or both of the officers, leading to a much different outcome,” Dingee says.

The woman in this case allegedly told police that Connell sent her out to check on the situation, when he saw the officers. She has not been tied to the carjacking, and JSO says she is not facing any charges at this time, so WOKV is not naming her.

Just hours later and across town, a police-involved shooting in Mandarin left a robbery suspect dead.

JSO says a delivery driver was approached after dropping off some food at apartments on Losco Road, and the suspect demanded money while showing what appeared to be a gun. The victim told police that she complied, but he ultimately gave the money back, saying “I’m not in it for the money”, before he ran off. The victim went to a nearby Walmart and reported the robbery to an off-duty officer working security, who then relayed a detailed description to on-duty officers in that zone.

10-year veteran Officer H.A. Berry spotted someone matching the suspect description at the St. Augustine at the Lakes Apartments on Old St. Augustine Road, and he stopped his patrol car and got out to approach that suspect. Dingee says the suspect- now identified as 18-year-old Dylan Thomas- turned to run, but also raised what appeared to be a gun, leading Berry to fire twice.

Berry was found in the breezeway of one of the apartment buildings, with a gunshot to the chest, according to JSO.

“Near the suspect’s body, officers located a very realistic looking replica of a revolver,” Dingees says, adding “Closer inspection revealed the weapon to actually be a .177 caliber BB gun.”

Dingee says Thomas has a history of both local criminal and mental health issues.

Dingee says all three of the officers involved have been put on administrative leave, which is protocol. None of them have previously been involved in police shootings.

There was a third law enforcement-involved shooting Wednesday as well, this one involving the FBI Jacksonville and nobody was injured.

“It was a very unusual day, absolutely. I’ve been a police officer 22 years, and never seen three incidents in one day. But it just goes to show how dangerous police work is on a daily basis. What seems to be recovering a stolen vehicle, then turns in to a fatal shooting very quickly,” Dingee says.

JSO says they were on proactive enforcement at 13th and Connally when they saw a suspect- 19-year-old Cleveland Rolack- gripping a handgun in his pocket. Police say as officers opened their vehicle doors, the suspect started shooting, and an FBI agent fired back. Nobody was hit, and Rolack was ultimately detained for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.