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Andrew Coffee was found not guilty of all charges against him. The man had been accused of shooting Indian River County police officers during a drug raid on his home in 2017. He was also accused of murdering one person in the standoff.
During the exchange of gunfire with police, Coffee’s girlfriend, Alteria Woods, was caught in the crossfire, shot 10 times and later died. The man was charged with Woods’ murder after a grand jury exonerated two police officers for her death.
Coffee claimed he was defending himself and his girlfriend when he fired at the officers during that early morning raid in 2017.
“Before the case went to the jury, Coffee took the stand to defend himself, blaming the police officers for his girlfriend’s death,” says West Palm Beach’s WPBF.
He told the judge that he and Woods were asleep when officers in the back of the house broke her bedroom window using a pole that then detonated a flashbang device.
Andrew Coffee’s defense
“I was trying to protect me and Alteria and I thought I was doing that, but I feel like I didn’t protect her. I can’t sleep on that. They killed her,” Coffee assured the jury.
Despite Coffee’s comments, prosecutors explained that the officers announced they were there at the time of the police procedure.
“Coffee was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm, which could carry a penalty of up to 30 years in prison. He was also found not guilty of Woods’ murder,” the media outlet detailed.
