Former Cocoa Beach police officer sentenced to seven years in prison

Former Cocoa Beach Police officer, Patrick Kelly, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he pleaded no-contest in court Monday. 

The backstory:

On December 29, 2022, off-duty Cocoa Police Department officer, Patrick Kelly, was arrested after he barricaded himself in his home following a domestic incident.

Deputies responded to a residence on Framura Lane in Viera around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday after Kelly's fiancée reported that he had threatened her with a firearm and was undergoing an "emotional crisis."

The woman managed to escape the home but informed authorities that Kelly had threatened to harm her, himself, and any law enforcement officers who responded, according to deputies.

Upon arrival, deputies reported that Kelly fired multiple shots inside the residence. A SWAT team was called in and successfully negotiated with Kelly, who eventually surrendered without further incident.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Florida police officer arrested after barricading himself in home, threatening to shoot fiancé: Deputies

He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault/domestic violence with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm on residential property.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

Records from the Cocoa Police Department indicate that Kelly was previously arrested in 2017 on charges of felony domestic violence battery, though those charges were later dropped. In a statement, the department said:

"While there are those in the community that will take this opportunity to attribute the actions of Officer Kelly to current departmental leadership, Officer Kelly was previously arrested back in 2017 for felony domestic violence battery. After those charges were dropped, Officer Kelly was allowed to remain with the Department. He has been with the department since 12/10/2007, and is now suspended without pay, pending termination."

New Details:

On Monday, Patrick Kelly pleaded no-contest and was sentenced to seven years in prison. After those seven years he will have two years of community control followed by six years of probation. 

During that state supervision, Kelly must stay out of Brevard and Indian River counties and must submit to being GPS-monitored for the first two years.

Kelly was charged with:

  • Kidnapping with assault
  • Battery - domestic
  • Resisting an officer with violence

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The Source: The information in this article comes from the Cocoa Beach Police Department.

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