P.G. burglar dies in shootout with cops

A robbery gone wrong made for high police drama in Punta Gorda before dawn on Monday. According to authorities, around four-thirty that morning, two officers were dispatched to Cherrish Store on King Street to investigate a robbery in progress. The cops discovered the back door open and when they went inside, their flashlights found the two perpetrators trying to hide. But the constables say as soon as they identified themselves, the thieves opened fire. A shootout ensued and between bullets, one of the suspects tried to make a run for it. One of the officers jumped up and tried to detain him, but during the struggle both their firearms discharged. One of the shots hit the suspect, fatally wounding him. The second man also put up a fight but he was eventually taken into custody. The deceased has been identified as Shawn Audinett, while twenty-three year old Daniel Sanchez is his alleged accomplice. A colt twenty-five pistol was recovered near Audinett’s body. Commissioner of Police Gerald Westby has ordered an official investigation into the incident.