A former Florida police officer who fired into a home he was sent to because of a dispatcher's error will not spend any time behind bars.
Carlos Anglero was convicted in January of shooting into a building. The former Ocoee police officer testified that he saw the homeowner inside with a gun and feared for his life.
Anglero was sentenced Thursday to three years of supervised probation, 100 hours of community service and he must pay restitution and have no contact with the victims. Anglero was facing up to 15 years in prison.
The judge withheld adjudication, which means Anglero won’t be a convicted felon.
Prosecutors argued successfully that Anglero was careless, and couldn’t see where he was shooting.
Anglero was on his way to a domestic violence call but was sent to the wrong address.
Instead, Christopher Lewis, his wife and their 12-year-old were inside sleeping and woke up to banging on the door.
The homeowner testified that he never heard the officers announce themselves as police when they woke him up by banging on the door.
Anglero told the court in January that he feared for his life when he saw Lewis with a gun.
“There was no doubt in my mind he was defending his family, and I was doing what I had to do to defend myself and my fellow officers,” Anglero said.
Prosecutors argued the homeowner never raised his weapon and the officers never identified themselves.
“He feels terrible for the Lewis family. However, he doesn’t want to be labeled as someone who is a felon, or who committed a crime,” said defense attorney James Smith.
Lewis told the court he and his wide are still shaken up by the shooting and that his wife suffers from PTSD.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Former Ocoee Police Officer Carlos Anglero is on the stand in his sentencing hearing. He faces up to 15 years in prison. He was dispatched to the wrong house but started shooting at the home when, he says, he saw someone with a gun. pic.twitter.com/zfn2mTbRb4
— Ty Russell (@TRussellWFTV) March 29, 2018
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