No charges in fatal shooting at pharmacy Frankel wins election unopposed
Use of deadly force was justified, jury decides Democrat will serve 4th term in Congress
When Davie Police raced to a shooting at a CVS Pharmacy, they found Alexander Williams, his hands bloodied, standing outside the store. His friend ’Dre Smith was inside, lying on the floor and bleeding from his chest.
“He got shot for a cellphone,” Williams, who tried to perform CPR on his friend, told an officer.
A Broward County grand jury decided Thursday not to indict gunman Matthew Jay Barry, 38, of Davie in the Nov. 1 shooting death of Andre Derek Smith, 20, of Pembroke Pines, which happened during a cellphone sale that police say began on Craigslist.
The decision said in part, “After considering all the evidence, your Grand Jury has concluded that the homicide of Andre Smith, was the result of the justifiable use of deadly force under Florida Law, and that, therefore, criminal charges against any involved individual are not warranted.”
Barry could not be reached for comment Friday. His attorney, David Oscar Marcus said in an email, “The grand jury reached the right decision in this case. What happened that day is very sad and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family.”
During a lunchtime meeting, Barry met Smith and Williams, 21, of Pembroke Pines, outside the store at 4610 S. Uni-
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents most of Palm Beach County, was guaranteed a fourth term in Congress on Friday — months before Election Day.
No candidate stepped up to run against her by the deadline to get on the ballot this year.
Derek A. Schwartz had previously announced a candidacy for the Republican nomination, and he’d been making the rounds of Republican groups and attending other public events.
But he posted a four-sentence notice on his Facebook page on Thursday — just 22 hours before the deadline for candidates to qualify for this year’s congressional elections — dropping out “due to unforeseen circumstances.” He didn’t elaborate but ended his note with the statement “God Bless America and President Donald J. Trump.”
Schwartz got a burst of attention on March 31, when he attended an event to raise money for a playground for kids sponsored by Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was one of the 17 people killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.
Then a candidate for Congress, he was wearing a T-shirt with a drawing depicting Trump urinating on a CNN logo.
Last month, speaking at a meeting of the Palm Beach County Trump Club, he touted his pro-gun credentials