Florida Suspect in Deputy Shooting, Practiced Shooting In Head

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. --

The suspect in the shooting of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy had targets from gun ranges hanging on the walls in his home and told investigators he didn't want to go to jail because he didn't want to miss the birth of his baby, Sheriff Ken Jenne said during a news conference Tuesday.

Deputy Maury Hernandez was shot Monday in the 3700 block of Pembroke Road, moments after he notified dispatch at 11:48 a.m. that he was stopping a motorcyclist, later identified as David Maldonado, for running several red lights.

Jenne said that witnesses at a motorcycle shop reported Hernandez, 28, getting out of his unmarked vehicle and identifying himself as law enforcement in a "non-confrontational" manner before Maldonado pushed Hernandez, ran from the deputy, then turned and shot him. Hernandez was wearing plain clothes on his way to work as part of his undercover assignment with the selective enforcement team.

"There's no question that Maldonado knew that he was dealing with a member of law enforcement," said Jenne. "Witnesses heard Detective Hernandez identify himself, saw him display his star, and most telling, the suspect has told us that he knew he was dealing with a member of law enforcement," said Jenne.

Moments later, witnesses said they heard gunshots, he said.

"I was driving by and I saw the officer on the (ground)," one witness told Local 10's Glenna Milberg. "He was bent over with his face in the grass, and you could just see the pain in his face."

David Maldonado Jenne said Maldonado fired two shots, one of them striking Hernandez from about 40 yards away. Jenne said neighbors told BSO investigators that Maldonado often practiced shooting at the gun range and practiced shooting in the head on a regular basis.

"Yesterday, detectives searched Maldonado's home as part of our investigation. What they found was chilling. The walls of his home were decorated with targets from gun ranges. Many of the targets had bullet holes concentrated in the head area. It was a very tight pattern," said Jenne.

Maldonado also told investigators that he has a baby on the way and didn't want to go to jail and miss his child's birth, prompting Maldonado to flee, Jenne said.

Maldonado, 23, fled to a nearby condominium complex on Hillcrest Drive, where Hollywood police officers took him into custody near building No. 23, BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said. Police said he was attempting a carjacking.

He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and violation of probation. It was not clear how he violated his probation. He was being held without bond at the BSO's main jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Jenne added that Hernandez, who has been with the BSO since 2002, did everything "by the book."

Deputy's Condition 'Extremely Serious'

Jenne described Hernandez's wound as "extremely serious" during a news conference Monday outside Memorial Regional Hospital.

Hernandez was shot on the right side of his head with a .45-caliber handgun and is now breathing on a mechanical ventilator, Jenne said.

"If recovery comes, it's going to be a long, long time," Jenne said.

Hernandez taught and coached baseball at Dade Christian School in Miami Lakes before joining the BSO. He is married and has no children.

Jenne said it was the sixth shooting of a deputy since he became sheriff in 1998.

Previous Stories:

• August 6, 2007: Deputy Shot In Head In 'Extremely Serious' Condition