The family of 20-year-old Jayden Baez will receive a portion of a $1 million settlement after he was shot and killed by Osceola County deputies in April 2022 outside a Target parking lot near Kissimmee. Attorneys for the plaintiffs announced the resolution in federal court this week, closing a hard-fought civil case that followed years of criminal reviews and intense public scrutiny.
The payout is being handled by the Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund and, according to the sheriff’s office, will not come out of county coffers. As WFTV reported, the county itself had already been dismissed from the lawsuit, and the fund agreed to settle to avoid further litigation.
Judge's Rebuke And The Civil Fight
U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell had earlier refused to grant qualified immunity to deputies Ramy Yacoub and Scott Koffinas, describing their conduct as a series of reckless and unreasonable decisions that turned a minor theft allegation into a deadly confrontation. That ruling cleared the way for the federal civil rights claims to proceed and survive early defense challenges, as outlined in our earlier coverage of the qualified immunity ruling.
Appeal, Voluntary Dismissal And Settlement
Court records show the deputies took their fight to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, filing an appeal after Presnell’s decision. That move ultimately fizzled: on June 29, 2026, the appeal was voluntarily dismissed as the parties moved to close out the appellate docket. The clerk’s order granting the dismissal appears in the case file on Justia.
Grand Jury, Investigators And Policy Questions
On the criminal side, authorities had already declined to prosecute Yacoub and Koffinas. An Orange-Osceola grand jury reviewed the shooting and issued no indictments, even as it criticized the sheriff’s office over its policies and training. Reporting at the time noted that investigators and attorneys raised concerns that deputies, who had responded from nearby tactical training, were in unmarked vehicles, did not have body cameras, and boxed in the Audi Baez was in before opening fire. ClickOrlando covered the initial briefing and surveillance footage, while the Orlando Sentinel later reported on Presnell’s ruling and the grand jury’s presentment.
What The Settlement Does - And Does Not - Do
The agreement ends the civil lawsuit brought by Baez’s family but, according to the sheriff’s office, does not include any admission of wrongdoing by the deputies or the agency. The money will be paid by the Sheriff's Risk Management Fund, not directly by Osceola County.
Attorneys for the family, including Mark NeJame and DeLayne Penland, had pushed for a jury trial and publicly maintained that the evidence would have favored their clients. As the settlement was announced, NeJame reiterated his confidence in the strength of the case and in the family’s position, as quoted by WFTV.
Broader Context
The Target shooting and its legal aftershocks played out while the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office was facing scrutiny on an entirely different front. Former Sheriff Marcos López was later suspended and arrested on unrelated racketeering charges tied to an alleged illegal gambling operation. ABC News and regional outlets documented López’s arrest and the leadership changes that followed at the agency.
