Monday will mark a significant milestone of 100 days since Andrew Bain assumed the role of Orange-Osceola State Attorney.
He is scheduled to hold a press conference to highlight his achievements thus far and unveil plans for future initiatives.
Bain’s journey started when he was appointed to the Orange County bench as a judge in 2020 following a judge’s retirement. He later secured re-election during the primary. His appointment as State Attorney came after Monique Worrell was ousted by the governor in August, with claims that she was “soft on crime” and dropped charges at high rates.
Upon assuming the position, Bain immediately expressed intentions to review Worrell’s cases, address youth crime, and revamp the handling of use-of-force cases.
Read: Andrew Bain: Who is the state attorney appointed to replace Monique Worrell?
Currently, all law enforcement use-of-force cases are referred to a grand jury to determine potential charges against officers, deputies, or troopers. This practice is standard in various parts of Florida and the United States.
The first case under this new approach involves a shooting outside an Osceola County Target store, with testimony underway to assess whether two deputies should be charged after responding to an incident involving young men accused of theft.
Read: New questions raised into deadly deputy-involved shooting at Target in Osceola County
An attorney for the group involved in the incident stated that they panicked and attempted to flee, unaware that the deputies were law enforcement officials. The ensuing confrontation led to the tragic death of 20-year-old Jayden Baez.
Furthermore, justice was served in the case of Alex Bargas, resulting in felony charges against Deandre Florence, who was long suspected of being involved in the shooting and robbery of 15-year-old Bargas.
After years of pursuing the case, officers finally arrested Florence again, charging him with murder in connection to the shooting death.
Bain is set to address the public on Monday at 9:30 a.m. Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for the latest updates.
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