This morning, Jon Webster Hay was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for three counts of Attempted First Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer. He shot a Sanibel Police Officer and shot at other law enforcement as they attempted to take him into custody. He was also sentenced to the maximum of 5 years in prison for Fleeing to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer and the maximum of 15 years in prison for Shooting at or Into an Occupied Vehicle.
Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Tyler Lovejoy and Assistant State Attorney Alyssa Wolf prosecuted the case.
“Three consecutive life sentences for shooting a police officer should serve as a very direct warning that violence against law enforcement officers absolutely will not be tolerated,” said State Attorney Amira Fox.
On November 20, 2016, the Sanibel Police Officer was sitting in his marked patrol car along Periwinkle Way, filling out a traffic report, when he was shot in the shoulder, by someone in a passing car. Other Sanibel Police Officers quickly arrived and gathered enough information to identify the shooter as Jon Webster Hay. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office also responded. They located the defendant’s vehicle and attempted to get him to stop, but he continued to flee, driving to his home on Sandcastle Way.
As law enforcement approached, the defendant, armed with an AR-15 rifle, fired more than two dozen rounds at them. Luckily the officers were not struck by the bullets and returned fire. Hay was grazed by a bullet and taken into custody. When searched, a loaded semi-automatic gun was found in a fanny pack he was wearing. He also had extra ammunition-filled magazines for the gun.
The officer who was shot was treated at a hospital for his injuries and survived the shooting.
“This Sanibel Police Officer was simply working in his car when he was shot by the defendant who preyed on this officer and then used an assault rifle to shoot at law enforcement as they attempted to take him into custody. Behind bars is where this defendant belongs and where he shall remain,” said State Attorney Fox.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director