FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A grand jury did not bring charges Friday against a man for a fatal shooting inside a Florida drugstore during a dispute over a cellphone sale.
The Broward County panel cleared 37-year-old Matthew Barry in November’s shooting of 20-year-old Andre Smith inside a suburban Fort Lauderdale CVS, saying the shooting was justifiable under Florida law.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Barry contacted Smith through Craigslist to buy an iPhone7 for $280 and agreed to meet outside the CVS in Davie. Detectives say Barry, who has a concealed weapons permit, warned Smith he had a gun after Smith tried to get the phone back after money changed hands. They say Smith and a friend told Barry they also had a gun.
Detectives say Barry went inside and asked clerks to call 911. They say video shows Smith following Barry, who pushed him and then fired several shots. Smith was unarmed. About a dozen other people were in the store.
Davie police spokesman Major Dale Engle said the grand jury’s decision closes the investigation.
“This is a tragedy. One man’s life was lost over the sale of a phone,” Engle said.
David Oscar Marcus, Barry’s attorney, said in an email, “The grand jury reached the right decision in this case. That said, what happened that day is very sad and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the (Smith) family.”
Attorney Jasmine Rand, who represents Smith’s parents, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
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Information from: Sun Sentinel , http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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