Andrew Coffee IV, an Indian River County man who claimed self-defense in his case and was found not guilty on the same day as Kyle Rittenhouse, did not receive nearly the media attention or coverage despite having a similar argument and verdict.
Coffee IV was on trial in connection with a deadly 2017 SWAT raid in Gifford. He was charged with second-degree murder of his 21-year-old girlfriend, three counts of attempted murder of law enforcement and shooting or throwing a deadly missile after the raid led to an exchange of gunfire.
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The sheriff’s office claimed Coffee IV fired shots first at deputies during an early-morning search warrant for narcotics at his Gifford home. On the other side, Coffee IV claimed deputies fired first and as he was fearing for his life so he fired two or three rounds, and claimed he did not realize they were police because they did not announce who they are.
Sadly, his girlfriend, Alteria Woods, who was also at the home at the time the gunfire started, was shot 10 times and died during the incident.
But the officer and deputies who fired their weapons were previously exonerated by a grand jury. However, it should be noted that a jury on found Coffee IV guilty of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
Julia Graves, Andrew’s attorney said her client can face up to 30 years in prison. They also plan to ask for time served and appeal that guilty verdict.
She added that they were ecstatically happy with the first verdicts of the five counts of not guilty on the most serious charges that could cause him to spend the rest of his life in prison, adding: “We were happy about that. We knew there was going to be an issue by the possession of the firearm by a convicted felon because that’s why we stipulated that he was in possession and stipulated he was a convicted felon, but we were hoping for the duress and necessity and self-defense on that.”