GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A police chase of a suspect accused of killing three people in south Georgia ended Wednesday morning when the man was shot and killed by a police officer.
Green Cove Springs police got a tip that a man wanted for allegedly killing his wife, stepson and a visitor in a home near Baxley, Ga., was at Pons Family Restaurant.
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As officers arrived, the man was leaving in a pickup truck with a Georgia license plate, beginning a pursuit through Green Cove Springs that ended on state Road 16.
Clay County sheriff's deputies joined in the chase, which ended when the suspect crashed after driving over stop sticks just west of the Shands Bridge. Sheriff Rick Beseler said the suspect got out of the pickup with a shotgun in his hand.
Green Cove Springs Police Chief Robert Musco said Craven hesitated before getting out and pointing the gun at his officer.
"Mr. Craven made the choice to come out of the truck with a gun," Musco said, calling the death "suicide by cop."
Green Cove Springs Sgt. John Jenner fired several shots. Police would not confirm the number
"We heard like six gun shots," said Johnnie Mae Collins, who was fishing near the Shands Bridge. "(I) went down and look and a man was laying on the ground they had shot."
Craven was rushed to Orange Park Medical Center, where he died.
While officials at the scene did not immediately provide the man's name, Channel 4 learned that the Appling County, Ga., Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Joel Jack Craven, 32, overnight after the bodies of three victims were found in a burning home about 40 miles northwest of Jesup about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities identified the bodies as Craven's wife, 37-year-old Tina; his 16-year-old stepson, Zachary Wayne Moore; and a family friend, 37-year-old Katrina Wood. Georgia officials said the victims were shot and their bodies were found in different parts of the house, which was then set on fire.
"They were most likely dead before the fire started," Georgia Fire Commissioner John Oxendine told WTOC-TV in Savannah.
Appling County officials said there had been a history of domestic problems between Craven and his wife.
Glenn Allen, a spokesman for Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, told The Associated Press that Craven is alleged to have told a co-worker he had committed the crime before fleeing to Florida.
Channel 4's Dan Leveton said Craven's appearance at the Pons Restaurant was not a coincidence, as a relative of his works there.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has joined the investigation, which is standard procedure in police-involved shootings. Georgia law enforcement personnel also responded to the scene.
Sgt. Jenner, a 22-year veteran of the Green Cove Springs police, was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, which is also standard procedure.
The Shands Bridge reopened to traffic about 1:30 p.m., more than three hours after the fatal shooting.