WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Police said Friday a "savage" man at the center of a violent crime spree in West Palm Beach earlier this month is also the suspect in a homicide and home invasion in Georgia.
The manhunt for Patrick Brockman, 43, ended on Oct. 3 when he was taken into custody at a home in the 5400 block of Eadie Place, and a Palm Beach County deputy was accidentally shot by a fellow deputy.
"This is just a very violent, savage person that is now off the streets," Mike Jachles, a spokesman for the West Palm Beach Police Department, said Friday.
Police released new information about the case, saying the investigation started after Brockman shot a woman in the face around 9:30 p.m. on Oct 2. inside an abandoned house in the 600 block of Douglas Avenue.
"An eyewitness stated 'Patrick' unprovoked, stood up and shot the victim in the face before fleeing on foot," Brockman's arrest report stated.
Less than two hours later, Brockman shot and killed a man just after 11 p.m. in the 1400 block of 9th Street, police said.
The next day, just before 9 a.m. on Oct. 3, Brockman held a man at gunpoint and stole his car outside a home in 900 block of 6th Street, according to police.
The victim had Apple Air Tags on his keys and wallet inside the car, which allowed police to track the vehicle to Brockman's home on Eadie Place in suburban Palm Beach County.
West Palm Beach police and Palm Beach County deputies surrounded the home. Brockman ran from the back of the house and was taken into custody, his arrest report stated.
When authorities served a search warrant at the home, a pit bull inside the property charged and attacked a deputy.
A second deputy fired a shot, hitting the pit bull. The bullet went through the animal and struck a deputy in the leg, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
The deputy was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
West Palm Beach police said Friday ballistic evidence has connected Brockman to an Oct. 1 homicide and Sept. 29 home invasion in Valdosta, Georgia, where he's a suspect in those crimes.
"He committed these savage attacks on innocent people, totally unprovoked," Jachles said. "This was a crime spree that we had to stop. We don't know what else he could've done."
Brockman is being held without bond in the Palm Beach County Jail on multiple charges including second-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, carjacking with a firearm or weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
