Fmr. police officer sentenced in road rage shooting

Firefighter with Flagler County shot during incident on U.S. 1 last year

Photo ofJuratovacfrom 2006 press conference when he was a Flagler Beach police officer

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A former Flagler Beach police officer who pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter was sentenced Friday to four years and three months in prison, followed by five years of probation.

Police said Nathaniel Juratovac fired shots at a passing car while driving down U.S. Highway 1 South between Watson Road and Southwood Road last March.

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One man was hit twice. The victim, identified as Jared Parkey, was flown to a hospital, where he was treated and released. Deputies said Parkey is a Flagler County firefighter.

Parkey was behind the wheel of his car with his wife and then-17-month-old daughter, according to family members, when some sort of argument broke out with Juratovac. What the two were arguing about was unclear to investigators, but Parkey's father said Juratovac attempted to run his son off the road several times.

The incident escalated quickly, Parkey's father said, and the two vehicles eventually pulled over. That's when Parkey's father said his son exited his vehicle and was met with gunfire from Juratovac's handgun.

One of the individuals in Juratovac's car was a member of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and was a witness to the incident.

Juratovac gained notoriety in 2005 when he arrested former State Attorney John Tanner's daughter Lisa for disorderly intoxication. The arrest triggered a scandal of allegations of police brutality when Tanner was strapped down to a chair in the Flagler County jail by deputies.

The scandal led to allegations of perjury against Juratovac, but those charges were eventually dropped. After the court case, he left the department.