ECSO deputy cleared of criminal charges in Grocery Advantage shooting

No criminal charges will be filed against the Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputy who shot and injured a suspect in a grocery store shooting in August.

The State Attorney’s Office announced Monday it had completed its review into the officer-involved shooting of Reginald Booker at Grocery Advantage.

Booker, 29, is accused of entering Grocery Advantage off of Lillian Highway on Aug. 15 and shooting at employees and customers after an altercation with an employee over using the store's phone.

No customers or employees were injured. Booker was shot by ECSO Lt. Mark DeWees and taken into custody.

The shooting:ECSO deputy shoots 'active shooter' inside Pensacola Grocery Advantage store

Details emerge:ECSO deputy shoots 'active shooter' inside Pensacola Grocery Advantage store

DeWees feared for his life before the shooting, according to Assistant State Attorney John Molchan's report on the investigation's findings.

The report stated that Booker entered Grocery Advantage, took a store phone from a cashier and refused to give it back. When a store manager approached him, Booker reportedly said, "This ain’t got nothing to do with you, you don’t want none of this."

Booker moved to the produce section where Grocery Advantage employees observed him acting "strangely," and the store manager later told investigators Booker was making "strange noises," the report states. An employee later described Booker “as talking in another language and acting like he was on drugs.”

When an employee approached Booker, he pulled a black pistol from his pocket and told the employee, "shoot straight," the report states.

Booker fired one shot inside the store shortly before DeWees and a fellow ECSO deputy arrived as customers and employees rushed out the front doors, the report stated.

DeWees confronted Booker in the produce section and said, "Show your hands, don’t move, and freeze." DeWees saw a pistol in Booker’s hand and Booker began lowering his body to the ground before “suddenly” darting toward and through a set of double doors leading to a loading dock," the report states.

DeWees located Booker in an alcove with stacked crates and boxes. He instructed Booker to show his hands and not to move.

“Lt. DeWees stated that Booker raised his hand and pointed his gun at him,” Molchan wrote in the report. “Booker did not fire a shot. However, Lt. DeWees stated that he was in fear for his life and he fired three (3) or four (4) times in response to Booker's actions. Booker was struck several times and was transported to Baptist Hospital for his injuries.”

Investigators found a .25 caliber Titan semi-automatic pistol near where Booker was shot, the report stated. Additionally, investigators found a spent .25 caliber casing in the produce section where witnesses reported Booker had fired a handgun.

After his arrest, Booker was interviewed twice by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents. Booker told agents he ran into the store after being chased by five black men and wanted to use the store’s phone. He admitted to having a gun in the produce section but said he put the gun down when the police arrived.

"He claimed he put his hands in the air and said 'thank God, thank you,' " Molchan wrote in the report. “He said the police stated 'stop refusing' and then shot him. Booker claimed he did not have anything in his hands at the time of the shooting.”

Booker also denied pulling a gun on employees or firing a weapon.

Store surveillance footage captured Grocery Advantage costumers ducking in response to a gunshot inside the store prior to deputies' arrival, the report stated.

Booker was charged with robbery with a firearm or other deadly weapon, firing a missile into a building, assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of weapon by a convicted felon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, according to the Escambia County Clerk of Court office.

Booker pleaded not guilty to the charges Aug. 27, and he is next scheduled to appear in court for a Dec. 18 docket day, according to the Clerk of Court's office.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.