Authorities say the man who fatally shot a Tarpon Springs police officer and then backed over him early Sunday has admitted to the crime.

Marco Antonio Parilla Jr.. 23, has a lengthy criminal record that included more than 30 felony charges. He'd been wanted for probation violation when officer Charles Kondek responded to an apartment building on Grand Boulevard around 2 a.m. to investigate a complaint about loud music coming from a car Parilla and a woman were parked in.

As Kondek approached the car, Parilla was just walking back from the building. The convicted felon started shooting at the officer with a 40-caliber handgun, authorities said.

Kondek, a 17-year veteran of the department and father of six children, was killed by a gunshot that struck him in his upper chest, above his protective vest. Parilla fled in the white Hyundai Elantra to nearby Athens Street, where he crashed into a power pole and truck before being arrested.

Detectives say the handgun used in the shooting death was stolen. Through their investigation, detectives were able to determine the gun was stolen during a vehicle burglary on August 5, 2014 in Jacksonville. The theft was reported to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Parilla's downward spiral started in 2009 just after his 18th birthday when he was arrested on a driving without a license charge. Between 2009 and 2011, he was arrested five times in Hillsborough County on an escalating range of charges.

He then served three years in prison for selling cocaine and marijuana, trafficking in stolen property and leaving the scene of a crash involving an injury.

Parilla had gone to the apartment building to confront someone he believed had reported drug activity that led to his probation violation charge, authorities said.

"This is a guy that has a very, very extensive criminal history," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters. "This is a guy that's been around the block many, many times."

Kondek, 45, was originally from New York and spent five years as an officer with the New York City Police Department before moving to Florida. His wife works for the Pasco County Clerk's office.

"Charlie was just a great guy, a standout cop who came in every day and did his job," said Tarpon Springs police Chief Robert Kochen. "He served most of his career on the midnight shift, away from his family, allowing citizens to sleep peacefully in their beds because he faced the danger for them."

Parilla's family described him quiet and nice in interviews with the Tampa Bay Times, but one who started using drugs as a teenager and then turned to gangs for support after getting out of prison.

According to the Times, Parilla attended East Bay High School in Gibsonton, but dropped out and got a GED. He worked intermittently as a cook in St. Petersburg and had two children with a girlfriend.

Authorities said that after admitting to the crime, Parilla apologized to Kondek's family as he was escorted into the Pinellas County Jail. "That was not my intention," he said.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri didn't buy it.

"It's all a bunch of nonsense," he said. "This guy knew what he was doing. He killed a cop, and he needs to be held accountable for that."

Parilla is being held without bond at the Pinellas County Jail on charge of first degree murder. He will make his first court appearance this afternoon.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.