ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating a shooting that left a man dead in his home after Orange County Deputies shot and killed him during an altercation between him and an alleged unwanted guest last month.

Deputies said that the homeowner, 26-year-old Jose Luis Lopez, was armed with a knife, but investigators did not report finding a knife at the scene.

What You Need To Know

  • The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating a shooting that left 26-year-old Jose Luis Lopez dead in his home after Orange County Deputies shot and killed him during an altercation between him and an alleged unwanted guest last month

  • The person identified as that alleged unwanted guest, Cristian Duran Contreras, is being charged in connection with Lopez's death because investigators say his alleged actions led to the shooting

  • Security expert and retired federal agent Dave Benson believes the deputies followed protocol and the charges should stand, while Criminal Defense Attorney Jonathan Rose believes the felony murder charged is unfounded

  • The decision to go forward with charges is ultimately left to the State Attorney’s Office

Cristian Duran Contreras is booked at the Orange County Jail and is being charged with felony murder, burglary and theft.

That’s because the man that was shot in this incident was the homeowner — a death officials at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office say only happened because of Contreras' alleged actions.

Body-camera footage from the Feb. 8 incident shows the kind of instant decision that law enforcement officers have to make in difficult situations.

Orange County Sheriff Deputies were responding to a burglary call at a home on Castle Street in Orlando.

When they arrived they reported seeing a ladder leading to a window and then two men, Lopez and Cristian Duran Contreras, inside the home.

News 13 showed the body-camera footage of the incident to security consultant and retired federal agent Dave Benson, and he approved of the deputies' response.

"Yeah, three times, that’s very standard to making your meaning clear," Benson said. "'Drop the knife, drop the knife, drop the knife.' In his mind, he saw what appeared to be a blade or an edged instrument, and it did not appear that the subject was in anyway complying.”

Benson said that in this instance, he believes the proper established protocols were followed.

Deputies say that Contreras went into Lopez's home without permission after an argument and ended up being put into a headlock by Lopez, which led to Lopez being shot and killed.

“I think there was a perception that the person putting the other person in a headlock was the perpetrator and was in fact the person that had broken into the home and that the other person was a victim," Benson said.

OCSO officials say that Contreras' alleged actions were the reason for Lopez's death, but criminal defense attorney Jonathan Rose said he doesn't believe it is that simple.

"They would have to prove that the death happened within the context of him committing the burglary, which they could," Rose said. "But they also have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the death happened as a consequence of the burglary.”

Rose believes that the death was caused by an unfortunate reaction from the deputies and from the facts given, he believes at most, Contreras should be charged with burglary with a battery — not murder.

Rose said that he doesn't think the state would be able to prove that Contreras should be convicted of felony murder.

Benson, though, said he believes it will happen because of the complete series of events.

“Had he not broken into the home, we would have not had this second or third order of consequences," Benson said. "The series of events that led to this person’s, you know, tragedy."

Both Benson and Rose agreed that things could have been handled a little differently and lessons can be learned from this incident.

The decision to go forward with charges is ultimately left to the State Attorney’s Office.