Santa Rosa County sheriff's deputies were justified in fatally shooting an armed Navarre man who had barricaded himself in his home in March, according to the state attorney’s office.
No charges will be filed against the deputies involved.
A report compiled by Assistant State Attorney John A. Molchan was released Friday.
Read the report for yourself. >>
The report states that deputies tried to serve a felony arrest warrant for several counts of counterfeiting to 55-year-old Jeffrey Allen Wright about 9:30 p.m. March 8.
Deputies made contact with him at his home on Avenida De Galvez, but Wright barricaded himself at the top of a staircase leading to a loft in the home’s garage, the report stated. A sheriff's deputy saw Wright holding a Beretta pistol.
Law officers surrounded the home. Three negotiators tried to reason with Wright, who told them he was a sovereign citizen, the report stated. The deputies would have to kill him to have him and that it was a good day to die, Wright reportedly said.
Wright accidentally discharged his pistol once but deputies did not fire back, according to the report.
The sheriff's SWAT team fired tear gas in the attic, which made Wright start to take apart the barricade. Deputies ordered him to show his hands as Wright sat at the top of the stairs.
Wright was still holding the pistol. He ignored deputies’ commands to put it down and moved it around and between his legs.
Sgt. Nathan Hall, Deputy Jerry Nash and Deputy Brian Miller saw Wright raise the gun and point it at them, according to the report. They fired at Wright and hit him several times.
No deputies were hurt.
Wright’s pistol was later found loaded and the hammer cocked back.
“The actions and choices of Jeffrey Wright on March (8) 2013 ultimately led to his death,” Molchan wrote.