Germain sentenced to life for attempted murder of deputy

A St. Augustine man was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, months after being convicted of attempted first-degree murder of a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Deputy, according to sheriff’s office records.  Brad Germain, 42, was convicted in November after the State Attorney’s Office said he attempted to murder a deputy with a homemade pipe gun.

On March 26, 2019, Historic City News reported that Germain pointed a pipe at a St. Johns County deputy’s chest and face, the release said. After further investigation, the deputy determined the pipe was a homemade firearm with a 12-gauge shotgun shell inside and that the primer of the shell had been struck twice by the firing pin.

 “There was nobody actually hurt, and I don’t think it’s justifiable at all that you give me a life sentence,” Germain told Judge Howard Maltz during the sentencing hearing. “There was no proof I pointed a weapon towards an officer. Just because there was a weapon found doesn’t mean I’m guilty of attempted murder on a law enforcement officer.”

Germain has seven prior felony convictions and he has a history of aggravated assault, according to the Office of State Attorney R J Larizza. Germain, who has to return to court in March on a separate firearms charge, has prior convictions for aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer.