OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The Osceola County sheriff on Wednesday praised a grand jury’s decision 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.
Sheriff Marcos Lopez thanked the grand jury and said “it’s always tragic” when law enforcement has to use deadly force.
“Hopefully the decision of the grand jurors will help those affected gain closure and begin the healing process. Because law enforcement officers placed themselves in dangerous situations daily, deadly force is sometimes the only way to protect innocent people from harm,” he said.
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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.”
Lopez said it’s “unfortunate that the two deputies who fired their weapons in this case had to wait 20 months to be told that they’re rightfully and legally performing their job as a deputy sheriff.”
“Hopefully in the future, officer-involved shootings will be investigated and addressed as quickly as possible,” he said. “... The grand jury will be making recommendations in the near future and we look forward to hearing the recommendations.”
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The sheriff said a lot of his office’s policies could use improvement and there have been changes made since the Target shooting. 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.
Lopez said the department has made changes to a box technique used and will upgrade/request additional body cameras.
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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.”
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