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Eustis police thank the men who helped identify suspect who shot officer

By Jessica Albert
Published  December 24, 2019 6:57pm EST
News
FOX 35 Orlando

Eustis police thank the men who helped ID suspect who shot officer

The Eustis Police department thanked two men who helped them identify the suspect who shot a police officer last week.

EUSTIS, Fla. - An encounter that lasted a matter of seconds is one Tim King will never forget.

"Honestly, there's a lot of things going through your mind about that time,” Tim King Auto Repair Owner Tim King said. “It was a split second but it felt like a half-hour, you know, it felt like a very long time."

King is the owner of the auto shop located right being the Shell gas station in Eustis. The one police say Jayson Colvin, 38, robbed two days before he shot Captain Gary Winheim.

King believes Colvin came back to the gas station right before the shooting to pick up a duffle bag. We asked investigators about that, they told us we’ll have to wait for their report to be completed.  King’s brother, Jack, who was at the shop noted Colvin had a gun.

"So, when I ran around the corner to confront him, basically, it was automatic,” King said. “The gun was to my head, and basically, he told me he was here to get his stuff and to get the hell away from him or I'll shoot you."

King said Colvin shot at him before jumping in his truck and taking off.

"Basically, I had enough time to get around this corner here and he just started laying rounds,” Colvin said. “I think it was like seven rounds."

After that, King’s brother took off after Colvin, calling 911 as he drove.

"We were just trying to make our community safe,” Colvin said. “We weren’t asking for anything. We just like to help."

Ironically, Jack King was on his way to pick up gifts for his kids when the shooting went down, but he never made it. So, Eustis police officers and people in town thanked the brothers for their courage, gifting them presents for their children in time for Christmas.

King is thankful he gets to spend another Christmas with his family.

"The whole day and the whole night, that's all that kept going through my head,” King said. “What if he pulled the trigger? What about my family? Yeah, it’s a scary feeling."

Eustis police said Captain Winheim continues to recover from the shooting. He is expected to be out of work the next couple weeks.