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Man killed by Orlando police in Colonial Plaza shooting identified

An Orlando police officer was indicted Wednesday on manslaughter charges stemming from an officer-involved shooting in 2018 at the Colonial Plaza, authorities said.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police have released the name of the man killed during a lunch hour shooting near downtown Orlando.

Juan Alberto Silva, 32, was in a gold-colored van, when he was shot Monday by two Orlando police officers in the parking lot of Colonial Plaza near East Colonial Drive and Bumby Avenue.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina said Master Police Officer Anthony Wongshue and Officer Juan Abrue asked Silva to stop his van, he drove away and officers fired.

Investigators said they were responding to a crash at about 12:30 p.m. when they were called for a reported shoplifting at a nearby Marshalls department store.

Police arrested two women in connection with the shooting.

Brittany L. Chandler, 26, and Jocelyn M. Villot, 32, were charged with felony murder, grand theft and resisting an officer without violence, Orlando police Sgt. Eduardo Bernal said.

The women are accused of shoplifting more than $700 in merchandise inside the Marshalls, according to arrest affidavits.

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Channel 9's Steve Barrett tried to track down friends who knew the woman, but only found Chris Myers, who said Chandler has been using his address improperly for years.

“We told the cops, we told the state attorney, her defense lawyers that she keeps putting my address. She never lived here, but since she knew my brother, she keeps using this address every time she gets in trouble. They’ve been here looking for her before and everything,” Myers said.

Both have previous arrest records. Chandler has been arrested on charges of theft, drugs and resisting police officers. Villot faces charges of heroin possession.

A third man was taken into custody, but police said Tuesday that he has not been arrested.

Wongshue has been with the Orlando Police Department since 2002 and is currently assigned to the North Patrol Division.

Abreu has been with the department since 2017 and is currently assigned to the Field Training Unit.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

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According to the OPD policy involving deadly force, it can be used only when an employee reasonably believes such force is necessary to prevent imminent danger of death or great bodily harm to the employee or individual.

Another part of the policy says a moving vehicle alone does not constitute a threat. Members are prohibited from discharging their firearms at a moving vehicle unless a person in the vehicle is immediately threatening the officer, or another person, with deadly force by means other than the vehicle.

Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett, WFTV.com

Reporter Steve Barrett returned to WFTV in mid-2017 after 18 months in the Twin Cities, where he worked as Vice President of Communications for an Artificial Intelligence software firm aligned with IBM.