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Robbery suspect dies during shoot-out
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
October 03, 2009 |
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Joe Alan Prevatt
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A suspect in a weekend robbery was shot and killed in a struggle with law enforcement at his home north of Starke on Monday afternoon.
An autopsy Tuesday concluded the shot that killed 44-year-old Joe Alan Prevatt was self-inflicted.
According to Bradford County Sheriff's Capt. Brad Smith, two officers were pursuing a lead at that Prevatt was at his home at 19813 N.W. 37th Ave. BCSO Detective Kevin Mueller and Starke Police Department Investigator James Hooper arrived at the residence around 2:30 p.m. and observed the suspect exiting the mobile home.
They made contact and asked Prevatt to step outside, but he refused and retreated indoors, attempting to close the door behind him.
Mueller tried to apprehend Prevatt, and Smith said a physical confrontation ensued. During the struggle, Prevatt pulled a silver plated handgun from an unknown location and fired several shots at the detective.
Mueller sought cover while returning fire, only to realize moments later that Prevatt had fallen to the ground at the doorway of the residence. He was pronounced dead at the scene when Bradford County EMS responded to the residence.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators are assisting with the shooting investigation. It was unknown at first whether the shot to the head that killed Prevatt came from Mueller's gun or his own weapon.
An autopsy later found the .25-caliber bullet fragment was from Prevatt's gun. Mueller was firing a .40-caliber Glock handgun.
"FDLE's investigation continues into the shooting with intentions of discovering if this was an intentional or accidental act by Mr. Prevatt," Smith said.
Also in the home at the time of the shooting was Regina Kay Starling, the suspect's 72-year-old mother. His other survivors include his wife, Crystal, daughter Edria McIntire, stepchildren Jared and Knightly Rice, and one granddaughter.
Speaking to the Gainesville Sun, his wife and daughter said Prevatt had moved in with his mother to help take care of her and he was in the process of applying for disability.
His long history on the wrong side of the law included serving four prison terms resulting from convictions for grand theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft and lewd and lascivious assault on a child under 16.
Prevatt was being sought for questioning in the Sept. 26 robbery of King's Kountry Produce north of Starke. An armed suspect matching Prevatt's description walked into the stand around 5 p.m. and demanded cash while holding the clerk at gunpoint.
At the same time the suspect was leaving the produce stand, the owner, Tommy King, returned and drove after the suspect, pursuing his small red car to the county line on east S.R. 16. During the chase, King was shot at several times by the suspect.
The suspect fled into a mining area near Camp Blanding and escaped, although two dozen deputies from the Bradford and Clay sheriff's offices formed a perimeter around the area while deputies from Jacksonville searched from the sky via helicopter. The search was called off when night fell and the suspect had still not been apprehended.
The investigation into the robbery continued that night, and Starke Police Department Officer Mark Lowery developed information that began pointing to Prevatt as a possible suspect, including the fact that his mother owned a small red car similar to the one King had chased. Detectives were, however, unable to locate Prevatt that night.
On Monday morning, the clerk from King's Produce was shown Prevatt's picture among others in a photographic lineup. She positively identified him as the man who had robbed her, Smith said.
It was at that time that Mueller and Hooper drove to Prevatt's last known address and came upon him preparing to exit the trailer. The resulting confrontation occurred within moments of the initial contact, Smith said.
BCSO is continuing the robbery investigation and is exploring the possibility that the same suspect may have been responsible of other robberies and burglaries.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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