SANFORD, FLORIDA — A husband, with his wife holding their baby behind him, shot a teen who had been breaking into vehicles. His wife woke him up in the middle of the night after hearing noises outside. Fearing that someone was trying to break in, the husband grabbed his gun, went to investigate and called 911.
“Are there any weapons,” the dispatcher is heard asking on the call.
“Yes. I just fired a shot, he came by. Help me out, please help,” the caller said on the line.
Police say the man saw someone by one of their vehicles in the front of the house. Preliminary evidence suggests the husband fired at the teen from 18-20 feet away.
The 911 operator asked the man if he knew the person was armed.
“I don’t know he just ran, he just ran, he faced me and I got super scared and my wife was behind me with the baby cause we kept hearing like a big bump, we kept hearing something,” the homeowner said, later adding he wanted to scare the unknown person off.
via clickorlando.com
Responding police found 17-year-old Adrein Green lying on the road with a single gunshot wound to his back. He died while arriving at the hospital.
Now, the state attorney’s office will look at the case.
Seminole County Assistant State Attorney Dan Faggard said under Florida law, when an individual is committing a forcible felony, including robbery, the victim is allowed to use deadly force to prevent that person from going through with that forcible felony.
Faggard said the incident can likely be investigated as a stand your ground case, a controversial Florida law that allows victims to use force in self-defense when one is fear for their life. He was careful to outline that statute extends beyond the well-known portions of the controversial law, saying there are multiple components that discuss the justifiable use of deadly force.
“(The) man indicated that he was in fear of his life but mostly for his newborn child and his wife who were in the home,” Faggard said. “We have to find there is probable cause to believe that the individual did not act in self-defense or justifiably. That’s a very high standard. Currently, we’re not able to make that determination and therefore he was not arrested this morning.”
Evidence collected at the scene shows that the teen was trying to break into the car, and tools were found nearby. Other vehicles in the area were also burglarized.
This case is one that does not come without it’s complications, and investigators will need to sift through all of the evidence before making any solid determinations.
The homeowner was not arrested, pending further investigation.
