PALM BAY, Fla. — A Brevard County man who was the victim of a shooting said his car was taken as evidence, and he hasn’t been able to drive it since.
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Keonte Brown said the car wasn’t disabled in the shooting – it was dismantled by police.
Palm Bay police said a search warrant was issued to allow police to collect evidence. But Brown said his car was destroyed in the process.
“They want my insurance to pay for their damage that they did to the car,” he said.
Brown was shot as he sat inside of his car at a Palm Bay apartment complex last December. Doctors had to reconstruct his left hand. No arrests have been made.
The bullet holes and evidence markers are still there. But Brown and his attorney said it was Palm Bay police who made the car undriveable when they cut off the roof.
“He drove himself to the hospital,” said Daniel Martinez, Brown’s attorney. “They alleged the vehicle was to be used as evidence to recover bullets, etc., but they took it too far.”
Palm Bay police told Channel 9 they were developing a case, and this was the only way to reach projectiles in the pillars of Brown’s car. But Martinez said police are “resisting giving us proof of a claim.”
Brown’s attorney said he and his client have only received a highly redacted incident report, which isn’t sufficient to file an insurance claim.
Palm Bay’s Risk Management Division had no record of a request for information from either Brown or his insurer.
Brown’s attorney said he anticipates taking legal action.
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