Busy Ponte Vedra Beach shopping center becomes scene of deputy-involved shooting

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — April 23 UPDATE: The suspect in the deputy-involved shooting in Ponte Vedra Wednesday has been identified as Richard Bonsell, 28, of Lewsitown, Pennsylvania, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said.

SJSO said Bonsell is still in the ICU at UF Health in critical condition.

The father of Richard Bonsell released a statement:

Tragic events have happened and I’m here to speak on behalf of my son Ricky. Ricky is NOT a monster.

There are a few things that I found out the past couple of days. My son did not steal a truck and come to Florida to shoot people.

My son works for his girlfriend’s Uncle’s car dealership and has approved access to car keys. During the coronavirus outbreak, the dealership was closed. Without the owner’s knowledge, my son would borrow a truck to go fishing.

My son is not a bad person, he does not do drugs. However, he has had trouble with alcohol and has several DUI’s. A few years ago, he did try to hide from the cops and wanted to kill himself because he didn’t want to go to jail for the DUIs. His mother intervened, without his knowledge, and took the cops to get him so he would not hurt himself. He then went to jail and did his time.

When I found out that my son was missing, I went directly to speak with the Lewistown cops. The cops only told me that Ricky was missing and didn’t tell me the entire story. I was shocked and devastated. I was trying to find my son, I was going to walk the river looking for him. I decided to go talk with Ricky’s boss at the dealership first. He told me that a truck was stolen and that it appeared that Ricky took it. He also said Ricky was his best mechanic and he was like a son to him. He even said that if he knew that Ricky needed a vehicle, he would have let him borrow one. The man was shedding tears as he spoke.

I then went back to the Lewistown cops and explained what I learned, and that my son would panic and want to take his own life instead of going to jail. I asked that if they found him to try to de-escalate the situation and let me talk to my son so that he wouldn’t take his own life.

It appears that when Ricky was fishing, he was drinking and found out that the truck was reported stolen. He was afraid of getting another DUI and going to jail, he panicked and ran.

I have no idea why he went to Florida. I continuously tried to contact him while he was missing.

I don’t know completely what happened in Florida, but do know that he was suicidal. My guess is that he shot, not directly at the cop, but in hopes that they would shoot him and he would die. I wish the cops would have de-escalated the situation, by cornering him and letting me talk to him.

In the end, you have a very sad young man who was so scared and so afraid, that he wanted to take his own life.

I thank god that no one got hurt in Florida and I do not condone my son’s action. If my son survives he will have gruesome facial injuries and will never be the same. Ricky will have to live with this the rest of his life, he is so young. His family members are totally devastated.

Original Story:

A busy Ponte Vedra Beach shopping center became a crime scene after a man in a stolen truck opened fire on deputies.

According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office the incident unfolded at 12:45 p.m. in for CVS Pharmacy parking lot at Sawgrass Village off A1A.

St. Johns County deputies say they were looking for a black Toyota Tundra that was reported stolen out of Lewistown, Pennsylvania.

A deputy spotted the truck and tried to pull it over.

Sheriff David Shoar said as soon as the deputy exited his vehicle the suspect shot at him with a shotgun.

“Soon as the officer exited the vehicle the subject came out of the vehicle and shot at the deputy twice,” said Shoar.

Witnesses nearby said they ran for their life soon as the shots rang out.

“That was the first thing in my mind was ‘Oh my God. Am I going to get hit with ricochet or collateral damage or something, then I was like ‘wait, wait we’re in Ponte Vedra but there’s still gunshots going off’,” said Andrew Burkhard

The suspect was the only one injured. It’s unclear if the deputy’s bullet hit him or if his wounds are self-inflicted.

Sheriff Shoar said they do know the suspect’s name but they haven’t released it yet as deputies continue looking into this background.

Action News Jax’s Russell Colburn said the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office told him, “The suspect in the shooting incident at the Sawgrass shopping center has been secured.”

The deputies were not hit by bullets, but they did return fire at the man, Shoar said.

The man then locked himself in the truck and deputies used gas to get the man out of the vehicle -- this was likely the loud bang that people in the area may have heard, Shoar said.

While deputies worked to get the man out of the truck, SJSO told people to shelter in place.

Once deputies got the man out of the truck, they found that he was wounded. Shoar said it is not clear if his wound was self-inflicted or if it came from deputies.

Shoar said SJSO is working to get background information on the man who fired at deputies.

The man’s name was not released but Shoar said the man is in his mid- to late 20s. He was taken to UF Health Jacksonville with life-threatening injuries.

Shoar said the shelter in place has been lifted, but there is a crime scene in the parking lot.

BREAKING: St. Johns deputies shot at in Ponte Vedra Publix parking lot; people in area asked to shelter in place BREAKING: St. Johns deputies shot at in Ponte Vedra Publix parking lot; people in area asked to shelter in place

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