Charges dropped against 2 men hurt in controversial shooting outside Kissimmee Target, court documents show
Multiple law enforcement officers responded to reports of a shooting in Kissimmee, on April 27, 2022. [FOX 35 Orlando]
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Theft charges have been dropped against two men hurt in a controversial deputy-involved shooting outside a Kissimmee Target store that left another man dead, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
Both Joseph Lowe and Michael Gomez were facing petty theft charges after Osceola County Sheriff's Office said that on April 27, it received reports that the two had stolen pizza and Pokemon cards from the store near US Highway 192.
According to the documents filed in the County Court for Osceola County, State Attorney Monique Worrell stated that following an investigation,"it is the opinion of the writer that this case is not suitable for prosecution" and both men were cleared of the charges.
On the day of the alleged crime, deputies who were reportedly training near the store noticed suspicious behavior and a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot with the tags covered by a piece of paper, according to Sheriff Marco Lopez. He said the people who got out of the vehicle were wearing "potential COVID masks" and had pulled the hoods of their clothing down over their faces.
The deputies reportedly waited for Lowe and Gomez to come out of the Target store and get in the same vehicle, before deputies in unmarked vehicles attempted to block their Audi in, which was being driven by 20-year-old Jayden Baez. OCSO said the deputies got out of their vehicles and shouted at Baez to stop, he said.
Left to right: Jayden Baez (deceased), Joseph Lowe, and Michael Gomez. Osceola County deputies responded to a Target in Kissimmee to investigate a report of shoplifting. It ended in a deputy-involved shooting. Baez died at the hospital. Lowe was shot
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Baez reportedly rammed into a total of four Osceola County agency vehicles, Sheriff Lopez said, and at some point, deputies fired their weapons, killing Baez and injuring Lowe, Gomez, and another person, authorities said.
NeJame Law Firm is representing the family of Baez and Lowe. Attorney Mark Nejame said the deputies exercised unlawful use of force, adding that Lowe was shot six times as he had his hands up, trying to surrender to deputies.
Nejame provided the following statement Thursday after learning the charges had been dropped:
"We are gratified and thankful that the Office of the State Attorney has exercised its discretion and dropped the charges. The unnecessary militaristic actions of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office caused the maiming and death of these young men over the theft of Pokemon cards and a pizza. It is the deadly actions and policy of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office that must be focused on and addressed."
The shooting has been under the investigation of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which is standard protocol for law enforcement involved shootings.
Sheriff Lopez told FOX 35 News in June he believed his deputies actions were justified. "I have the utmost, 200% trust in everything they do based on their training and their experience," Lopez said at the time.