OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The Osceola County sheriff will hold a news conference Wednesday to discuss the decision a grand jury made to not bring charges against two of his deputies involved in a shooting at a Target in Kissimmee in April 2022 that killed one person and injured two others.
State Attorney Andrew Bain on Tuesday announced the grand jury’s decision.
“After hearing the witnesses and evidence on the grand jury, did I believe that charges should be brought against the two officers involved in the shooting of the individual that passed away...” Bain said. “The grand jury heard from experts, they heard from other witnesses, and they heard other evidence to come up with that conclusion.”
Sheriff Marcos Lopez will discuss the development during a news conference at 10 a.m.
[VIEW PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW]
A grand jury was put in place after Bain announced a policy change last year regarding use of force cases in which a grand jury would decide whether criminal charges would be filed against an officer who uses force in a criminal case.
When he was asked about which case would be first to be brought before a grand jury with the policy change, Bain said, “It’s going to be the Target case.”
“It’s the only case we have open and it’s been open for over a year, which is an unacceptable timeline,” Bain said during a news conference in September 2023. “The policy holds me accountable in bringing those cases to a quick and speedy resolution.”
[VIEW PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW]
The April 2022 shooting stemmed from the theft of Pokémon cards and a pizza from the Target on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, the sheriff’s office said.
Jayden Baez, 20, was killed and Joseph Lowe, Michael Gomez and a teen were injured in the shooting.
According to the sheriff’s office. several deputies attended a training near the Target the night of the shooting. Two detectives were in the Target parking lot and noticed “suspicious behavior,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said during a news conference days after the shooting.
[Click here to see all of News 6′s previous coverage of the Target shooting]
“A black Audi had caught their attention because they noticed the vehicle’s license plate was concealed by a piece of paper,” the sheriff said.
Lopez said after seeing this “suspicious behavior,” training was concluded and deputies were told to “gear up” and head to the Audi, where the four men were, though none of the deputies involved in the shooting were equipped with bodycams. According to Lopez, this is because deputies wear tactical gear during training, while bodycams are typically given to patrolling deputies.
[VIEW PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW]
According to deputies, a loss-prevention officer with the Target store was notified by the detectives of the suspicious activity. Lopez said the loss prevention officer saw Lowe and Gomez shoplifting.
After Gomez and Lowe returned to the car, surveillance video showed several unmarked sheriff’s office vehicles move to box in the Audi. One of the vehicles appears to hit the front of the Audi, which then moves forward.
[VIEW PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW]
Ultimately, the theft charges were dropped against Lowe and Gomez.
Since then, a lawsuit was filed by attorneys Mark NeJame and Albert Yonfa against the Osceola County sheriff and two of the deputies involved in the shooting.
The federal lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s office of monitoring Gomez and Lowe inside the Target store and as they left the store with the stolen items, but not confronting them at any time. Instead, the lawsuit says that the sheriff’s office used the suspects as “human guinea pigs for their training exercises.”
[VIEW PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW]
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:
Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.
English (United States) ·