Jon Webster Hay, the man who shot a Sanibel Police Officer, has been convicted of three counts of Attempted First Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer, Fleeing to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer, and Shooting At or Into an Occupied Vehicle.
Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Tyler Lovejoy and Assistant State Attorney Alyssa Wolf prosecuted the case.
On November 20, 2016, just before 8 p.m., a Sanibel Police Officer was sitting in his marked patrol car along Periwinkle Way. He was filling out a report on a traffic stop, 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, but the patrol cars were hit. The officers returned fire and Hay was grazed by a bullet. He was then 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.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 13, 2025.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office