DAVIE, Fla. – Andrea Smith said she hasn't slept much since her son, Andre Smith, was fatally shot outside a CVS pharmacy in Davie during a Craigslist transaction.
Sitting next to her attorneys, Andrea Smith spoke at a news conference Wednesday to demand that the Davie Police Department release the surveillance video related to the Nov. 1 shooting that left her 20-year-old son dead.
"My son was my life and I'm not going to stop until I get justice for my son," Andrea Smith said.
Andre Smith placed an advertisement on Craigslist to sell an iPhone for $280. Matthew Barry replied to the ad and agreed to meet outside of the CVS at the intersection of Griffin Road and University Drive to make the exchange.
Barry told police that Smith tried to rob him, so Barry, who had a concealed weapons permit, was forced to shoot Smith in self-defense.
"It looks like Mr. Barry is attempting to get away from Smith," Davie police Maj. Dale Engle said. "The surveillance video also shows Smith pursuing Barry around different displays at the front of the store."
Smith's mother doubts that. She said her son wasn't armed and that Barry was the real aggressor.
Her attorneys are demanding that Davie police release the video so they can see for themselves what happened.
Davie police aren't budging, and now Andrea Smith's attorneys are threatening to file a lawsuit.
"We're waiting for some type of professional police work, and if it does not happen within hours, not days, we certainly will be filing that lawsuit," attorney Jose Baez said.
Meanwhile, Barry's attorney, Kenneth Padowitz, believes the evidence speaks for itself.
"I'm confident, once you review all the evidence in this case, it's going to back up and corroborate my client's situation that he was placed in and had to defend himself," Kenneth Padowitz said.