Orlando PD officer not charged in death of Cocoa woman

An officer with the Orlando Police Department who accidentally shot and killed a Cocoa woman at a bar in Orlando in August will not face charges.

Maria Godinez, 22, of Cocoa, was killed by a round fired by Officer Eduardo Sanguino just before 1 a.m. Aug. 19. The round was one of nine shots fired in the direction of 23-year-old Kody Roach, who had a firearm, according to a investigation released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In the summary analysis portion of the report, it states "that the actions taken by officer Sanguino were consistent with the physical evidence and overall testimony of law enforcement officers and civilian witnesses."

Police were first called to the scene at 12:43 a.m. Two minutes later, Sanguino, along with officer Jeffrey Angel told Roach to "get on the ground" but Roach didn't comply. Following that, Angel attempted to use his Taser on Roach, but it was ineffective.

As Angel fired his Taser, Lt. Frank Nunez with the Orlando Police Department also approached Roach. After the Taser was fired, Sanguino noticed Roach reaching for his waistband, at which point he fired nine shots, with more than one of those shots hitting Roach.

In an interview following the incident, Sanguino stated that Roach "forced me to fire" and that he was "in fear immediately for Officer Jeff Angel" since he wasn't going to be able to protect himself having just fired the Taser.

Nunez was struck in the lower right leg by a round that went through a closed door at the club and killed Godinez.

Prior to the incident, Roach had consumed 10 alcoholic beverages and had done a "little bit of coke" at another bar before going to the Vixen Bar.

Contact Bonanno at 321-242-3662, cbonanno@floridatoday.com or follow him @FTChrisBonanno.