EUSTIS, Fla. – A fugitive on the run after shooting a Florida police captain near a gas station in Eustis was shot and killed during a gun battle Thursday evening, authorities said.
Jayson Colvin, 38, was tracked by several law enforcement officers, including a SWAT team that found him in a wooded area not far from the location he was accused of shooting Eustis police Capt. Gary Winheim.
A sheriff’s helicopter saw Colvin hiding under a canoe near a lake, where they said he tried to escape as the SWAT team approached. Police officers eventually saw Colvin and ordered him to put down his weapon.
When he failed to comply, a gun battle ensued and he was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell.
Jayson Colvin, 38, was tracked by several law enforcement officers, including a SWAT team who engaged him in a gun battle in a wooded area not far from the location he was accused of shooting Eustis Police Captain Gary Winheim. (Lake County Jail)
“He failed to comply with the SWAT team’s demands and the subject is now deceased,” said Grinnell, according to Tampa’s FOX 13. “Multiple deputies opened fire on the individual.”
Earlier in the day, the Eustis Police Department said shots were originally fired around 12:15 p.m. near State Road 19 at County Road 44, authorities told the outlet.
Winheim was near a gas station around that time when he reported hearing gunshots. Police Chief Gary Calhoun said Winheim saw Colvin speed away from the station before he pulled up behind the suspect in an unmarked pickup truck. Colvin then fired at Winheim, hitting him in the neck and lodging a bullet in his back, Calhoun said.
#BREAKING: Manhunt underway for the suspect who shot @EustisPolice1 Capt. Gary Winheim. He was airlifted to ORMC and is stable.
Investigators say gunfire was heard near State Rd 19 and County Rd 44. Eustis police Capt. Gary Winheim responded, followed a suspect, and was shot. pic.twitter.com/3JgOOEaBod
— Alexa Lorenzo (@ALorenzoTV) December 19, 2019
“Another millimeter or so in another direction and it could have been a lot worse,” said Calhoun, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
After Winheim was shot, local residents reported seeing a massive police presence flying by on the streets of Eustis.
Several agencies still rushing to scene where a Eustis PD Officer was shot #FOX35News @fox35orlando pic.twitter.com/3XVkCRtmJX
— Holly Bristow FOX 35 (@FOX35Holly) December 19, 2019
Nearly 500 officers from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the search for Colvin, including police from Mount Dora, Umatilla and the Florida Highway Patrol, the outlet reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating and Winheim was expected to make a full recovery.
Colvin had reportedly been sentenced to state prison four times since 2000, for various crimes including armed burglary, grand theft with a firearm, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing law enforcement, false imprisonment, grand theft of a motor vehicle and kidnapping, according to the Sentinel.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2011 before being released in January 2018.
