Victim: Smell of gunpowder lingers in memory after Ocoee officer shot into home

ORLANDO, Fla. — Christopher Lewis said Wednesday that he can still remember the smell of gunpowder from the night an Ocoee police officer fired into his home after responding to the wrong address during a domestic disturbance call.

Lewis testified Wednesday that he was confused about what was going on when someone started banging on his door in the middle of the night in February 2016.

He was in court for the trial of Ocoee police Officer Carlos Anglero, who is charged with shooting into an occupied home.

Anglero and fellow former Officer Stephanie Roberts went to a home on Belhaven Falls Drive, but officials said dispatchers sent them to the wrong address.

Investigators said dispatchers used cell towers to pinpoint the caller's location.

Winter Garden police said one of the dispatchers was given a written letter of counseling for errors that were made during the call.

Lewis said he heard a knock at the door at about 1:30 a.m. and asked four times who was at the door. He said he grabbed his gun after not receiving an answer because he thought it might be an intruder.

The officers saw the gun when he opened the door and began shooting, Lewis said.

"When that light hit me, I heard the word 'gun,'" Lewis said Wednesday in court. "Bullets came flying. I was suspended in time. I smelled the gunpowder as (bullets) whizzed by my face."

Investigators said the officers fired nine shots into the home. No one was injured.

Anglero has maintained that his actions were consistent with the agency’s training for life-or-death situations.

Roberts wasn't charged in the shooting, but she was later fired for padding her time sheet, officials with the Ocoee Police Department said.

She’s expected to testify during the trial for both the prosecution and defense.

Prosecutors said they plan to call eight witnesses in the case, including Lewis' wife and son.

Anglero could face up to 15 years in prison if he’s found guilty.

Defense attorneys for the officer said Anglero will take the stand in his own defense during his trial.

Cox Media Group