Ex Florida Deputy Hit With Murder Charge in Deadly Roommate Shooting

A former Brevard County, Florida, sheriff’s deputy is facing a second-degree murder charge stemming from the 2022 death of his roommate.

Former Florida sheriff's deputy, Andrew Lawson, was accused of fatally shooting his roommate and former colleague, Deputy Austin Walsh, while they were playing Call of Duty on the night of Dec. 3, 2022, at their Palm Bay, Florida, apartment. Walsh was 23 at the time of his death.

According to authorities cited by Fox 35 Orlando, Lawson allegedly pointed a gun at Walsh "as a joke," and pulled the trigger twice. Authorities said the firearm discharged on the second attempt.

“Our hearts are broken over his loss. He will be deeply missed by our agency, our community, and our prayers are with his family,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey in a video shared on Facebook at the time.

Lawson, who authorities said appeared "fully distraught and devastated" when officers arrived at the scene, was "taken into custody on a no-bond warrant by agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on a charge of manslaughter with a firearm," according to the sheriff.

Initially, charged with manslaughter, the 26-year-old now faces a second-degree murder charge after the State's Attorney's Office filed to upgrade the charge on Thursday.

The move comes three months after a court rejected Lawson's attempt to plead guilty to the initial manslaughter charge. According to multiple media outlets, the plea could have capped Lawson’s sentence at seven years, During earlier proceedings, Walsh’s mother, Cheryl Walsh, described it as "an insult to what took place that night, and that is not justice for our son."

"I wouldn't say any new evidence came. But they reassessed the evidence they had, and they said, you know, we can charge this as a second-degree murder," attorney Geoffrey Golub said.

He added that even if the trigger pull was intended as "a joke," and the gun didn't initially fire, the incident should have stopped there.

"We're kidding around, not a great joke here, but he shoots and nothing goes off Well, okay. How do you then take a second shot? I think the joke’s over at this point, if you're just fooling around. So to me, the second shot would have been planned," he added.

According to CBS News, Ivey described both Lawson and Walsh as "good kids," and called the shooting a "clearly dumb and avoidable accident."

"Folks, this unnecessary and totally avoidable incident not only took the life of an amazing young man and deputy, but it has forever changed the life of another good young man who made an extremely poor and reckless decision," Ivey said.

In a separate Facebook post, Ivey said Walsh was a "treasured member" of the agency and had served with the department since he was 18. He also served for several years in the "Explorers program."