'I shot the deputy': Florida man admits he shot Nash County deputy while in court for firearms charge

A federal jury convicted a Florida man of illegally possessing a gun during shooting last year that left a Nash County deputy injured.

Posted 8:44 p.m. Aug 25, 2022 — Updated 6:15 p.m. Jan 25, 2023

Keenan Willard

, WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — The man accused of shooting a Nash County Sheriff’s Deputy during a traffic stop in February 2021 confessed to the crime while representing himself in federal court.

Jarred Ford, 34, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was on trial facing charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm when he acknowledged opening fire on two Nash County sheriff's deputies during the Feb. 4, 2021, incident.

On Thursday, Ford chose to represent himself in court.

While questioning one of the deputies, Ford repeatedly mentioned he had a gun on him during the incident.

"You understand this about whether you were a felon in possession of a firearm, correct?" Judge Terrence Boyle said. "And, you just admitted you had a firearm several times."

Ford later took the stand as a witness.

"I pulled out my firearm and fired four or five times," Ford said. "I shot the deputy."

It took the jury 12 minutes to return a guilty verdict.

“I think the big moment was the confession on the stand,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of NC Aakash Singh.

Prosecutors said deputy Shelby Smith pulled over Ford for speeding in February 2021 on Interstate 95 while he was traveling from New York to Florida.

During her testimony, Smith said she was initially planning to write Ford a warning before smelling the odor of marijuana in his vehicle.

Smith said she called for backup and asked Ford to step out of the vehicle. Dashcam video from both officers’ units that was showed in the courtroom displayed deputy William Toney arriving on the scene shortly after.

On Toney’s body camera video, Smith could be heard asking Ford if he had marijuana on him. Ford replied that he had marijuana in the car.

The video showed Smith and Toney move to detain Ford, who struggled against them before producing a handgun from his waistband on his left side.

Dashcam video from Toney’s unit showed the deputies and Ford move off camera, where multiple gunshots rang out. Both deputies could then be seen coming back into frame, with Toney bleeding profusely, saying “I’ve been shot.”

Toney was shot in both arms and the hip. Smith said she returned fire against Ford, who was shot seven times and left in critical condition after the incident.

A helicopter took Toney to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where he eventually recovered from his injuries but was unable to ever rejoin the sheriff’s office due to lingering complications.

Suspect in Nash deputy's shooting is Marine veteran with 'explosive behavior,' father says

On Thursday, Toney credited the sheriff's office's emergency response training for getting him first aid on the scene.

"Training is the is the most important thing we have," Toney told WRAL News on Thursday. "I think that was a big part of why we survived what happened to us that day."

WRAL News also spoke with Smith on Thursday.

"We train for stuff like that, but reality hits when it’s you, or when it was me, and it sucks because my partner is not able to come back to work anymore, and losing a partner is never easy," Smith said.

Michael Easley, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, reacted to the outcome of Thursday's hearing.

"Today was a good day for law enforcement," Easley said. "Today was a good day for our criminal justice system because 12 average citizens served as jurors, and they found the defendant guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm."

After the trial, WRAL News spoke with Ford's father, Jake Ford.

"Why he chose not to have an attorney I have no idea," the elder Ford said. "He didn’t think that they had his best interests."

Jake Ford said his son had fired every lawyer assigned to his case. Also, Jake Ford said his son is a disabled veteran who has struggled with his mental health.

"He does have some issues as far as psychologically from when he was in service," Jake Ford said of his son.

Jarred Ford is also facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault on a law enforcement officer and drug and traffic-related charges in state court. He faces up to 10 years in prison for the federal charge.

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