Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Craigslist deal led to fatal CVS shooting
Phone seller pulled gun in chase through store
Gunfire in a CVS pharmacy in Davie that left one man dead and two others under investigation began with a Craigslist sale that went wrong, police said Thursday.
It was the second online transaction to end in violence in South Florida in two weeks.
Matthew Jay Barry, 37, of Davie, makes a living buying goods online. Wednesday, he chose the parking lot of the CVS at 4610 S. University Drive to buy an iPhone 7 for $280 from Andre Derek Smith, 20, of Pembroke Pines, Davie Police Maj. Dale Engle said Thursday.
Smith showed up with a friend police did not name. The sale took place in the parking lot, but Smith apparently didn’t want to finalize the transaction, Engle said. “They tried to get the phone back,” Engle said. “First it was, ‘Well, I need to download my contacts,’ ” Engle said. “So Barry takes the SIM card out and he gives them the SIM card.”
They made another request, and Barry felt uncomfortable.
“He felt like they were going to rob him,” Engle said.
Barry warned Smith and his friend that he had a gun. They told Barry they also had a weapon, but police didn’t find one.
The store had about a dozen shoppers inside when the shooting happened just before 1 p.m. The store is just south of the intersection at Griffin Road, a neighborhood with three colleges nearby and is especially busy at lunchtime.
After retreating inside the CVS, Barry repeatedly asked clerks to call 911.
He “made discreet requests several times as he traveled through the front of the store, with Mr. Smith pursuing him,” Engle said. “The surveillance video clearly shows that Mr. Barry enters the store and that Mr. Smith is right behind him. It looks like Mr. Barry is attempting to get away from Smith.”
Barry, who has a valid concealed carry permit, pushed Smith and pulled out a handgun, Engle said.
Barry fired several times, striking Smith, according to Engle. No one else in the store was injured. Davie Fire Rescue paramedics took Smith to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he died Wednesday night.
Engle said he didn’t think one could rule out applying Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which provides immunity from prosecution for shooters who find themselves in self-defense situations. But, the police spokesman added, the investigation is continuing.
Neither Barry nor Smith’s friend was arrested or charged with any offense. The next step in the case was a search of Smith’s car, police said.
Once the investigation is complete, detectives will present the case to the Broward state attorney’s office for review, Engle said.
He did not reveal how many shots were fired or the type of weapon Barry used.
As people turn to cellphone applications and websites to trade personal belongings, they may risk their personal safety, police say.
In North Lauderdale on Oct. 22, a woman using the cellphone application OfferUp was shot in the back of her head as she and a friend tried to sell an iPhone.
The deal began on a residential street and moved to an ATM before the woman was shot. The injury was not life-threatening, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. The agency arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and armed robbery.
Police departments around the country have invited the public to carry out online transactions in their lobbies or parking lots in an effort to prevent such violence.
“Our lobby is videotaped and has audio, and is a safe place for people to complete these transactions,” Engle said.
Davie police have investigated other encounters that began as online deals and turned into robberies when the parties met, but none has resulted in fatal gunfire. “Be careful,” Engle said. Craigslist didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.