The Scoop

(WATCH) Black Man’s Murder Charges Dropped Due To Self Defense, Draws Comparisons To Kyle Rittenhouse

By • November 21, 2021 2:53 pm

Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts by a jury on Friday afternoon. Also on the same day as the Rittenhouse verdict, another young man who claimed to have used his gun in self-defense was acquitted of the murder charges against him.

“A jury found Andrew ‘A.J.’ Coffee IV, 27, not guilty of second-degree felony murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer by discharging a firearm, and one count of shooting or throwing a deadly missile,” the TC Palm reported on Friday.

A total of 14 law enforcement officials, including SWAT team members donning camouflage pants and shirts with “SWAT” on the sleeve, arrived at the Coffee residence in Gifford, Florida, at 5 a.m. on March 19, 2017. According to Vero News, the shooter’s father, Andrew Coffee III, opened the front door to the home and was taken into custody by law enforcement.

According to witness testimony, before entering the residence, deputies shouted “sheriff’s office search warrant”.

The TC Palm reported, “Coffee IV told the court he was asleep at the time the SWAT team arrived. He woke up and thought he was being robbed. Coffee said he saw what appeared to be a rifle sticking through an open bedroom window pointed at him. That’s when he fired a .45-caliber pistol out of the window, shooting two or three times.”

According to court records, deputies returned fire with more than a dozen shots aimed towards the bedroom. Alteria Woods, Andrew’s 21-year-old girlfriend, was killed after she was reportedly wounded by ten bullets fired by the SWAT team, one of which penetrated her chest.

Alteria worked as a pharmacy technician while attending Indian River State College, where she was studying to be a pharmacist, Woods’ family said.

Woods’ mother filed a federal lawsuit in January alleging misconduct on the part of the officers who shot and killed her daughter during the early morning raid.

In July 2017, a grand jury found no evidence to support any criminal charges against members of the SWAT team involved in the raid. An internal review led by the sheriff’s office found no evidence to support any violations of policies and procedures.

Deputies said they discovered marijuana cigarettes, crack cocaine, ten Hydromorphone tablets, and one oxycodone pill in the older Coffee’s bedroom.

After claiming he was acting in self-defense, the younger Coffee was cleared of all murder charges brought against him. He was, however, convicted of possession of a handgun or ammunition by a convicted criminal. He was sentenced to prison. Coffee, who has four prior felony convictions, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 13.

When asked why his client was not charged with murder in the case, Coffee’s attorney, Adam Chrzan, responded, “We argued successfully, clearly, that there was some overreaction and overreach by the sheriff’s department on that raid. They should have pulled back, they didn’t. And this is what happens when you go into a volatile situation without all the information.”

Many people are making parallels between the decisions in the cases of Coffee and Rittenhouse since they were handed down within hours of each other and had two defendants who were found not guilty due to self-defense. Many social media users are attempting to refute the perception that race played a role in Rittenhouse’s acquittal due to the Coffee verdict.

Following the announcement of Rittenhouse’s judgment, left-wing commentators flocked to Twitter to allege that the outcome of the trial was the product of “white supremacy.” Several well-known people, including NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, concocted a hypothetical scenario in which Kyle Rittenhouse would have been found guilty of murder if he had been African-American.

Geoffrey Ingersoll, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Caller, commented, “People saying Rittenhouse would be found guilty if he were black ought to read about the Coffee verdict, which, as it happens, also came down today. Coffee FIRED ON DEPUTIES during a raid, made a self defense case, and won.”

“If you say Kyle Rittenhouse would’ve been found guilty if he were black look at the case of Andrew Coffee.” conservative blogger Carmine Sabia remarked on Twitter.

Political commentator, Rob Smith said, “Black man acquitted in self-defense ruling after firing back in unannounced SWAT raid that killed his girlfriend. The Second Amendment is for all. Beware those who want you to think it’s not. Their intentions are not to protect you.”

Legal analyst and radio host Michael “Lionel” Lebron commented, “Andrew Coffee was also found not guilty in a jury trial by a system that apparently can administer justice to someone who is not white. I believe this destroys soundly the ridiculous myth promoted and propounded by the radical left.”

Stay tuned to The Scoop for any updates.

Paul Aubert


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