JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nassau County Facility Management is cleaning up the mess left behind by alleged murder suspect, Patrick McDowell.
Action News Jax first told you Tuesday when investigators found him at a sports complex near Callahan Intermediate Elementary. Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said McDowell crawled out of one of the bathrooms near a baseball field. Evidence shows McDowell was using the ‘Snack Shack’ concession stand as a temporary hide out.
“Just kind of gut-wrenching too because we were supposed to have an event there that night,” Ryan Kerley said. He is a coach and board member for the Callahan Soccer Club, which uses the sports complex.
Hundreds of kids play in the area regularly, but that’s on hold for a while.
Photos obtained by Action News Jax show the mess left inside the concession stand by McDowell.
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“He knows how to use a fryer, because the foods all been cooked in there. He got into hotdogs. He’s been in there for quite a while. Completely trashed,” Kerley said.
The team rents the concession stand that McDowell was hiding out in.
“We’re going to be out all that that money for the food, and have to replace all of that just for safety purposes,” Kerley said.
Almost everything was either eaten or touched. The team will not only have to replace the food, snacks and items, but also their jerseys.
“When he was arrested, he had one of our shirts on, and then he had another one like wrapped around his hip area and his waist.” Kerley said. “I believe he used the shirts to dress his wounds.”
Kerley not only serves as a board member, but he is also the father of a student at Callahan Intermediate School. It’s just yards away from the concession stand.
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“They were actually on lockdown for two hours in the closet,” Kerley said. “My kids have kind of been terrified with everything going on the last week, being afraid. And this is kind of their safe place up here.”
The hope is to get the kids back on the field once the county gives the team the ‘ok.’
Kerley also told Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty, that the team was originally planning to host their “Coaches vs. Coaches” match the Friday of the shooting. The team cancelled when it learned of the man hunt. Now, they’re working to pick a new date.
Kerley tells Action News Jax that they plan to rename the event to “Moyers Warriors” in honor of Deputy Joshua Moyers who was allegedly killed by McDowell. Down the road, the team is discussing changing its jersey colors to black and blue to honor Moyers, as well.
The team set up a GoFundMe page to help make up for the loss.
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