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Friday, September 28, 2012

Citrus County Deputy, Gregory Entrekin, shoots sex offender in his home

Something isn't right here, see last story?

9-27-2012 Florida:

An investigation is under way after an off-duty Citrus County deputy allegedly shot a sex offender who broke into his home.

Investigators say 28-year-old Derrick Vaccianna broke into the home of Deputy Gregory Entrekin, 24, at around 11 p.m. Wednesday, when he was confronted by Entrekin and his girlfriend.

Vaccianna was shot during the confrontation and taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Vaccianna was a registered sex offender on probation at the time of his death.

Since Entrekin was off-duty at the time, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in, and both the FDLE and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office are investigating.

As is customary in cases such as these, Deputy Entrekin has been placed on paid administrative leave pending further notice. ..Source.. by Melissa Ramsey

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Off-duty Citrus County deputy shoots, kills intruder

9-27-2012:

An off-duty Citrus County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a 28-year-old man who broke into his girlfriend's home late Tuesday, officials said.

Citrus County Sheriff's officials did not immediately identify the deputy other than to say he was familiar with the intruder, Derrick Vaccianna, 28, who broke into the house on Eden Drive about 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

Vaccianna, who lived in the town of Hernando, was a registered sex offender and on probation at the time of his death.

According to the Sheriff's office, the deputy was inside the residence with his girlfriend when Vaccianna broke in.

Soon after, the deputy and Vaccianna became embroiled in an argument, which quickly escalated to a physical fight, officials said.

Then the deputy got his gun.

He shot the intruder once in the chest, according to Sheriff's Office reports.

Vaccianna was taken to Citrus Memorial Health System, where he was pronounced dead.

It was not immediately clear whether the victim was armed at the time of the shooting.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and State Attorney's Office are investigating the incident. No further information was available early Thursday morning. ..Source.. by Marissa Lang, Times Staff Writer

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Off-Duty Sheriff's Deputy Shoots Man in Alleged Break-in

10-2-2012 Florida:

We love stories of self-defense because they prove just how important guns are, but every once in a while you get a story that's a real puzzler.

Florida Citrus County Sheriff's Deputy Gregory Entrekin, who was actually deputized last month, was spending some off-duty time with his girlfriend, Amanda Vance, when 28-year-old Derrick Vaccianna broke into Vance’s home. Now, before we get too far with this, we should point out that this wasn’t just some random robbery. Neighbors claim that Vaccianna and Vance had been in a relationship as recently as two weeks ago, and Entrekin personally knew Vaccianna. We're using the term "break in" because people involved in the case are calling it a break in, but it's not entirely clear if that's an accurate description.

First off, Vaccianna had a key to Vance's home, and it appears that Vance had invited Vaccianna into her home in order to talk. Chuck Hobbs, the attorney for Vaccianna’s family, stated, “I have strong confirmation that [Vance] had been trying to reach out to Derrick all that day, saying she wanted him to come over to the house because she was trying to reconcile their relationship.”

So, did Vaccianna "break in" or did he simply walk in? We suppose that depends on who's telling the story.

To complicate matters, Vaccianna is a registered sex offender who was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct involving a 12-year-old girl. But these are all complicated details -- let's get to the facts.

According to reports, Vaccianna entered Vance’s home at about 10:45 p.m last Tuesday. Vaccianna and Entrekin became embroiled in an argument, which escalated into physical violence. The deputy got his gun and shot at Vaccianna, striking him once in the chest. Vaccianna was taken to the hospital but was later pronounced dead. Entrekin has since been placed on paid administrative leave.

We’ve come across some fuzzy, morally ambiguous self-defense shootings before, but this one might take cake. With so many complicated factors at play, how can we determine whether Entrekin was justified in pulling the trigger?

Did Vaccianna have a right to be in the home or was it a real break-in? Did the physical confrontation warrant violence? Were jealousy and relationship issues factors in this shooting?

We’d hate to be in Entrekin’s shoes right now. By the looks of things, Vaccianna’s family might be able to make a persuasive argument that Vaccianna had just as much right to be in Vance’s home as Entrekin did, and at that point it all boils down to the question of whether or not the physical confrontation warranted pulling the trigger.

We’re not saying that physical threat isn’t a sufficient reason to use a gun to defend yourself -- we’re just saying that in this case it really isn’t clear that it was the best course of action. After all, what if Vaccianna had shot Entrekin instead of the other way around? Would he also be able to claim self-defense?

This case might hinge on Vance, whose testimony could condemn or support Entrekin.

What do our readers think? When you invite somebody into your home, how (if at all) does that change your rights self-defense? Or even better yet – if you are invited to somebody else’s home and you get into a fight with another guest, who gets to claim self-defense -- whoever is left standing? ..Source.. by dabneybailey

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Citrus County Deputy involved in fatal shooting made news before

9-28-2012:

Inverness, FL - A Citrus County sheriff's deputy who authorities said fatally shot a man inside his girlfriend's house, has made headlines before.

10 News did a story on Gregory Entrekin back in 2008, when he saw his newborn daughter for the first time over a computer screen. The then-Marine reservist was serving in Iraq at the time. According to court documents, Entrekin and his wife divorced in 2010.

Officials with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said Entrekin, now 24 years old, was with his current girlfriend when he shot a man inside her house along Eden Drive Wednesday.

Authorities said 28-year-old Derrick Vaccianna broke into the home and confronted the off-duty deputy and his girlfriend, Amanda Vance. According to detectives, a fight broke out and Deputy Entrekin shot Vaccianna once in the chest. He later died at an area hospital.

Vaccianna was a sex offender on probation. In 2005, when he was 19, Vaccianna was convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct involving a 12-year-old girl.

Neighbors, however, said Vaccianna and Vance were a couple, and saw them together as recently as last week. They add, from what they could tell, Vaccianna did live at the house at some point.

"I've never had any issues with him. Upstanding guy. Always waving 'hi'. We have our little conversations here and there. But that was very shocking," said a neighbor, who didn't want to be identified.


Deputy Greg Entrekin is new to the Sheriff's Office. He joined the agency in August after serving overseas with the Marines. He has now been placed on paid administrative leave. ..Source.. by Althea Paul

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Deputy cleared in off-duty shooting

1-17-2013:

Report paints picture of love triangle gone wrong

An off-duty deputy involved in the shooting of a Hernando man early last fall has been cleared of any wrongdoing, according to a report from the State Attorney’s Office.

Trainee deputy Greg Entrekin shot and killed Derrick Vaccianna, 28, the night of Sept. 26 after a struggle in the bedroom of an Inverness woman.

According to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, Entrekin and his girlfriend at the time, Amanda Vance, were confronted by Vaccianna after he entered the residence on Eden Drive in Inverness through a bedroom window. Entrekin shot Vaccianna when he reportedly charged at him. Vaccianna died at the scene. The case was handed to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an independent investigation.

“This was a tragic event in which there were no winners,” said Sheriff Jeff Dawsy. “We knew right away it was best to have an independent review of the case and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted a very comprehensive and detailed investigation. We are very confident in their findings.”

That investigation and just-released report points to a love-triangle rife with alleged threats and declarations of love.

Vaccianna’s family was stunned by news of the state attorney’s decision.

“That’s just wrong. Wow, I can’t believe this. How is it that they couldn’t find anything wrong with what he (Entrekin) did?” Derrick Vaccianna’s sister Verron Vaccianna said.

Ms. Vaccianna said the family is now pondering possible legal options.

Entrekin, who had been with the sheriff’s office barely a month before the incident, was initially placed on administrative leave, and then returned to the sheriff’s office in an administrative capacity. Recently, Entrekin was permitted to begin his field training officer program, which is required before he goes on the road as a patrol deputy, according to CCSO.

“I’m sure Deputy Entrekin is anxious to officially begin his career as a law enforcement officer,” Dawsy said. “We are looking forward to the contributions he will make here as a member of this team.”

According to the report released by the State Attorney’s Office, before the fateful September day, Vance was dating Entrekin, but was carrying on a relationship with Vaccianna.

The report state Entrekin knew Vance and Vaccianna had previously been romantically involved, but did not know the entire story.

Vance reportedly altered the entry for Vaccianna in her phone to read “Janice” and would delete text messages to and from Vaccianna from her phone immediately so Entrekin would not see them.

Vaccianna, conversely, also knew Vance was seeing Entrekin and on Sept. 24 called Entrekin and, according to Entrekin, threatened him if he continued to see Vance.

The report stated the phone call was followed by a series of text messages to Entrekin from Vaccianna that said, among other things, that Entrekin would “catch a bullet” if he continued to see Vance. “If I catch you you’re a dead man,” one text reported said.

FDLE was reportedly able to piece together a sequence through text records and by tracking Vaccianna’s movement on the night of the shooting. Vaccianna was on sex-offender probation and had a GPS ankle bracelet on.

Vaccianna reportedly exchanged a series of texts with Vance the day of the shooting, with Vance saying she loved Vaccianna, but she later said it was a ruse to pacify him because he was mad that she was with Entrekin.

The report stated Vaccianna eventually entered Vance’s residence through a bedroom window and confronted the couple, who were in bed.
Vaccianna reportedly grabbed Vance and started screaming at Vance and Entrekin, who had the gun by the bed and grabbed it. Vaccianna called 911 to report that Entrekin was holding a gun to his head.

Vaccianna reportedly “lunged” at Entrekin after more shouting, and Entrekin pulled the trigger. ..Source.. by

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