- February 28, 2025
A former Flagler Beach police officer accused of shooting and injuring a local firefighter during a road rage incident entered a plea of guilty Friday to attempted manslaughter with a firearm. He had previously pleaded not guilty.
The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison, but under the pending plea agreement, Nathaniel David Juratovac would spend slightly more than four years in prison — a sentence of 51 months, minus credit for 84 days already served — followed by nine months house arrest and five years of probation, said Lynne Bumpus-Hooper, spokeswoman for the state attorney’s office 18th Judicial Circuit.
He would also pay $5,040 in restitution to victim Jared Parkey at sentencing and another $500 as a condition of probation.
Juratovac can withdraw the plea at any time before it becomes official at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 24, Bumpus-Hooper said.
St. John’s County deputies said the incident began March 29 in St. Augustine when Juratovac, who resigned from the Flagler Beach Police Department in 2008, brake-checked firefighter Jared Parkey for following too closely.
Parkey threw a water jug at Juratovac’s car, and the two cars started driving aggressively, a witness told deputies. The cars slammed into each other and both pulled to the side of the road.
Then Juratovac got out of his car, walked over to Parkey and shot him, the witness told deputies.
Parkey was hospitalized with two gunshots wounds to the chest.
Juratovac was released June 21 on $300,000 bond, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s website.
The case is being handled by the 18th Judicial Circuit, which covers Brevard County and Seminole County, instead of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which would normally hear St. Johns County and Flagler County cases.
The Seventh Judicial Circuit recused itself, citing a conflict of interest because Juratovac was a former local police officer and his wife is still a deputy with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, said Seventh Judicial Circuit spokeswoman Klare Ly.
