INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Emotions were high Thursday as Andrew Coffee IV spoke about his girlfriend killed in a drug raid and how he tried to defend his family from what he thought were home intruders.
Coffee IV, 27, told prosecutors he fired shots at what he thought were intruders breaking into his residence during the March 19, 2017 raid in Gifford. He said he didn’t know it was law enforcement, who had exchanged gunfire with Coffee IV.
“What scared me was hearing the big ‘boom’ and seeing the barrel of a gun through my window. I didn’t know the police was coming to the house,” Coffee IV said. “I thought they shot at me. I returned fire. I was protecting me and my girlfriend.”
Coffee IV cried when he recalled how he asked detectives if his girlfriend, Alteria Woods, 21, was still alive. At one point, Coffee IV buried his face in his hands, appearing to be overcome with grief.
“I loved Alteria more than anything. She had a bright future ahead of herself,” Coffee IV said of Woods, who was caught in the crossfire and struck 10 times. “If I could trade places with her I would.”
The testimony happened on the second day of Coffee IV’s Stand Your Ground immunity hearing. Coffee IV’s defense attorneys are pushing for Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn to drop the murder charges against Coffee IV.
The target of the raid was not Andrew Coffee IV, but his father Andrew Coffee III. Three law enforcement officers who fired shots in the raid said they loudly yelled “sheriff’s office, search warrant.”
Defense attorneys noted Indian River sheriff’s SWAT members broke a window and used flash bangs while announcing themselves. The defense said it’s possible Coffee IV, lying in his bedroom with Woods, did not hear the SWAT team’s commands amid the sound of the loud bangs.
Defense attorneys also noted the flash bangs leaves people disoriented by causing temporary blindness and deafness. The defense said SWAT team members did not use flashlights when announcing themselves.
If Vaughn allows the Stand Your Ground immunity defense, prosecutors will have to work to disprove Coffee IV’s claim that he feared for his life at the sudden sound of explosives.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law states “a person who is in a dwelling or residence in which the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground.” That person also has the right to use deadly force if they feel their life is in danger, the law states.
Prosecutors charged Coffee IV in Woods’ death, noting he committed a felony he should have known would cause harm to others. The three officers who fired shots in the raid – Indian River Deputies Christopher Reeve and Patrick White, and retired Indian River Shores Officer Richard (Rick) Sarcinello – were exonerated by the grand jury.
Coffee IV has been held at the Indian River County Jail since he was arrested in the raid. He was being held on $440,000 bond.
Coffee IV, a convicted felon, faces life in prison if he is convicted on the charges against him for the raid, prosecutors said. Those charges include second-degree murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer by discharging a weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and shooting or throwing a deadly missile.
Before the raid
Coffee IV, who also goes by “A.J.,” said he had worked a late shift at a restaurant at The Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel in Vero Beach the day before the raid. He said Woods picked him up in her car.
Woods then drove to Coffee IV’s home in the 4500 block of 35th Avenue, where Coffee IV lived with his father and grandmother.
Woods and Coffee IV arrived at the home about 1:30 a.m., just a few hours before the raid, Coffee IV said. Woods spent the night.
“I talked to (Woods) for about 15 minutes and then went to sleep,” Coffee IV said.
The SWAT team, preparing for the raid, were given a list of names of people who might be in the home when the search warrant was expected to occur. Coffee IV’s name was on the list, but Woods’ name was not, deputies said.
There were at least three vehicles outside of the home that belonged to Woods, Coffee IV and Coffee IV’s grandmother Vivian Scott, Scott said. Scott said she and her friend, Leslie Lowery, were at the home when gunfire rang out.
Andrew Coffee III, another witness who testified in court on Thursday, was also at the residence.
‘Don’t shoot’
By 5:30 a.m., deputies were positioned outside of the home preparing to execute the search warrant.
White previously said deputies loudly announced themselves before detaining Andrew Coffee III at the main doorway entrance. Coffee III was later charged with several narcotic offenses after deputies found drugs in the home, including cocaine.
Deputies tossed a flash bang into Coffee III’s room.
Sarcinello and Reeve were positioned on the east end of the home near Coffee IV’s bedroom. The officers previously said they didn’t know Coffee IV and Woods were staying in the room.
Reeve said he broke the bedroom window while Sarcinello yelled “sheriff’s office, search warrant.” Coffee IV said Woods woke him up and pointed toward the window that was being shattered.
Coffee IV said he heard a loud bang in the dark room and that he didn’t hear any announcements from law enforcement. The “bang” was from a flash bang that Reeve had detonated, officials said.
Coffee IV said he saw a gun barrel sticking through the window. Coffee IV then grabbed a firearm from underneath the dresser and fired toward the window.
“I was trying to scare whoever it was away,” Coffee IV said. Deputies fired back into the room, later discovering Woods was fatally struck while lying on the bed.
Scott said she was asleep in another bedroom when Lowery awoke her, saying Coffee IV was calling on her. Lowery said she was in the hallway when she saw “bullets coming (from) everywhere.”
Lowery, who moved to a door, said deputies dragged her out of the residence.
Coffee IV had moved to the front of the home when Scott saw him on the floor. Scott said she heard rapid gunfire.
“(A.J.) told me to get down. He pulled me down,” Scott said. “The (officers) told me to come out. I said ‘don’t shoot no more.'”
Scott said she and Coffee IV crawled toward a door to come out when a bullet pierced through the door.
“I would’ve been hit if I wasn’t on the ground,” said Scott, her voice filled with emotion. “I froze. I couldn’t talk. I was scared. I never experienced anything like that before.”
Closing arguments
Defense attorneys, who want Coffee IV to be cleared of prosecution, argued that prosecutors have not proved that Coffee IV knew he was firing at officers. The defense said Coffee IV didn’t know whether or not the flash bang used was a gunshot.
Prosecutors reiterated that deputies announced themselves during the raid. It was unclear when Vaughn was expected to rule on the motion hearing.
