OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain announced on Tuesday that two deputies involved in a deputy-involved shooting at an Osceola County Target back in 2022 would not face charges.
During that shooting, one person was killed and two others were injured after deputies swarmed an Audi at the Target.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Bain said that a public grand jury decided not to bring charges against the two deputies involved in the shooting.
“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.”
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Despite that, Bain explained that the grand jury will continue reviewing evidence from the shooting as they head into the “second presentment phase.”
“I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing, but they’re still investigating the facts surrounding the incident to ensure that they can tell the public how they believe that this situation should not happen again,” Bain said.
In addition, Bain said that there are still open investigations by federal agencies regarding the deputy-involved shooting.
Attorney Mark NeJame, who represents the victims in the shooting, said he is “ecstatic to hear” that the case isn’t over yet.
“They want to find out more,” NeJame said. “It’s almost impossible to get an indictment against law enforcement. We know that... And why? In this particular instance, we know that from our investigations, certain matters have not aligned. We believe that there has been less-than-truthfulness that was presented to the grand jury.”
BACKGROUND
According to the sheriff’s office, Jayden Baez, Joseph Lowe, Michael Gomez and a teenager were in the Audi, and it had been reported that two of them were spotted stealing a pizza and Pokémon cards from the Target store.
Deputies had been taking part in a training exercise at the parking lot that day, and they responded after the theft was called in, investigators explained.
Documents from the sheriff’s office state that the Audi — driven by Baez — tried to flee by pushing between two of the deputy vehicles at the scene, pinning one deputy against a vehicle.
As a result, shots were fired, and Baez was killed while Lowe and Gomez suffered serious injuries. Lowe lost part of his hand, and Gomez was shot in the back.
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Both Lowe and Gomez were later charged with petit theft, though those charges were ultimately dropped.
Since then, a lawsuit was filed by NeJame and attorney Albert Yonfa against Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez 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.”
In addition, the lawsuit claims at least 30 law enforcement officers, some in unmarked vehicles without lights or sirens activated, were involved in the takedown.
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