PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A GameStop employee posted a $25,000 bond Thursday morning. He is accused of manslaughter for shooting a shoplifter at the Pembroke Pines store on Tuesday night.
Local 10 News caught up with Derrick Guerrero, 33, as he was leaving the Broward County Jail.
Local 10 News asked Guerrero what happened inside the GameStop and while he wouldn’t comment on that, he did answer another question.
“Is there anything you want to say to the victim’s family?”
“I am extremely sorry to the family,” said Guerrero.
Pembroke Pines police said Guerrero fatally shot a shoplifter at the store, located at 11069 Pines Blvd., around 8:16 p.m. Tuesday.
Detectives said that the 21-year-old victim was in the store for more than an hour and then asked Guerrero to get him some merchandise from the back of the store.
“When the manager went to retrieve that merchandise, the victim went behind the front counter of the business to shoplift some merchandise and leave the store with that merchandise,” said Pembroke Pines police Maj. Al Xiques.
Police have released the victim’s identity as Chadrick Coats, who they say then ran toward the store’s front door with the merchandise. That’s when Guerrero grabbed a gun from his waistband and fired a single shot, striking the Coats in the torso, investigators said.
While he was able to post bond, he must surrender all of his firearms. As he was leaving the jail, a GPS monitor could also be seen around his ankle.
Coats, according to the Associated Press, grabbed five boxes of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet “ultra-premium” trading cards, according to a police report. The cards retail for $120 a box.
After he was shot, the victim ran outside to a pickup truck, where a woman called police. Coats, according to the Associated Press, died three hours later.
Store security cameras showed the shoplifter never threatened Guerrero and didn’t display any weapons, therefore Florida’s “stand your ground law” would not apply in this case.
The law allows the use of deadly force if there is a threat of death or great bodily harm to themselves or others, but it does not allow it simply to protect property.
Local 10 News has attempted to reach out to the victim’s family but they have asked for privacy.