Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain provides update after 100 days in office

Bain was first appointed by the governor to the Orange County bench as a judge back in 2020 after a judge retired. He was then re-elected during the primary. The governor chose Bain after ousting Monique Worrell in August -- claiming she was “soft on crime,” dropping charges at high rates.

When Bain stepped into the role, he announced plans to re-evaluate some of Worrell’s cases, tackle youth crime and change how use-of-force cases are handled.

Read: Andrew Bain: Who is the state attorney appointed to replace Monique Worrell?

Now, all law enforcement use-of-force cases are sent over for a grand jury to decide if the officer, deputy or trooper should be charged. The practice is routine in other parts of Florida and the United States.

A shooting outside an Osceola County Target is the first.

Testimony began early this month to decide whether the two deputies involved in the April 2022 case should be charged after they responded to a group of young men accused of stealing Pokemon cards and pizza from the store. They were training nearby. '

Read: New questions raised into deadly deputy-involved shooting at Target in Osceola County

An attorney for the group said they panicked and rammed cars to escape, not realizing the deputies were law enforcement. The two deputies then shot and killed 20-year-old Jayden Baez.

Justice came in the form of felony charges for the family of Alex Bargas. Deputies long suspected Deandre Florence was the man who shot and robbed the 15-year-old.

Read: ‘Never lost faith’: Man arrested in connection with Boone High School student’s 2018 shooting death

But as the years passed, they couldn’t make the case. That changed Thursday when officers booked Florence into jail again and charged him with murder.

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