Sgt. Green, 47, was a K-9 officer shot and killed on Nov. 13, 2002 while responding to a report of a home invasion robbery just before 8:00 p.m. A report came in that an armed man had bulled his way into a home on Melody Circle and was trying to rob the two women inside. Officers sped to the neighborhood but couldn’t locate the street. Green was the first to find it. When he approached the scene he observed a suspicious car and called in the description of it before being ambushed and shot 6 times with a 357, including once in the head. With other officers arriving, the shooter jumped in his car and fled. He led police and Leon County sheriff’s deputies on a chase that ended when he crashed into a ditch on Sharer Road. Deputy Brian Pearson fired at him and the man surrendered. At the time Sgt. Green was wearing his vest. He was pronounced dead about one hour later at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital at 9:21 p.m. Sgt. Green had been with the Tallahassee Police Department for 13 years and his K-9 partner was Lux. Sgt. Green was an expert sniper also. Coy J. Evans, 33, is facing a first degree murder charge for the slaying of Sgt. Green along with two counts of armed robbery, armed burglary, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He had just been released June 30, 2002 after serving a five and a half years of a seven year prison sentence for burglary and robbery with a firearm. Sgt Green is survived by his wife Debra and three children Kristen, Will and Ryan, ages 20,15 &13. On the fifth anniversary of his death the city’s Water Utility donated 20 acres to the Tallahassee Police Department and a K-9 training facility was named after him. The 2,000 square foot building includes an office, showers and a screened-in porch for washing the department’s canines. Outside, there are gated areas for different types of police-dog training.
Evans’ rap sheet dates back to when he was 18, starting with a burglary charge. Over the years, he racked up arrests for trespassing, driving without a license, resisting an officer and marijuana possession – among other charges. The charges grew more serious, and he eventually went to prison. Court and police records detail his crimes. On Dec. 18, 1994, Evans accosted a man in the 400 block of North Macomb Street and they wound up in a fight, police reports show. As the victim tried to get back in his car, Evans reached in and struck the man on his forehead with the butt of a handgun, causing a cut that needed 11 stitches. On Nov. 13, 1995 – exactly seven years before Green was shot – Evans held up two women with a handgun inside a Joe Louis Street apartment, taking money and a jacket. No one was hurt. On May 18, 1996, while he was out on bail for the 1995 charge, Evans and another armed man robbed a Memphis Street home with three adults and three small children inside, forcing them into a bedroom. The robbers took several pieces of jewelry, including a gold chain with a Mickey Mouse charm. Two months later, one of the victims saw Evans and his then-girlfriend in a local grocery store and recognized Evans from the robbery, according to reports. The girlfriend was wearing a chain with a Mickey Mouse charm. On Dec. 5, 1996, court records show, Evans offered no-contest pleas in all those cases before Circuit Judge J. Hall Jr., now retired. The no-contest pleas mean Evans did not admit guilt but chose not to defend the charges in court; the judge found him guilty anyway. Evans, charged with aggravated battery in the fight, pleaded to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to time served – 60 days in the county jail. Facing a maximum life sentence for the robberies if convicted at trial, Evans instead agreed to serve seven years in prison, according to the plea form. Hall gave him 215 days credit for time served. Evans entered state prison Jan. 9, 1997, and he was released June 30, having served about 5½ years.
Number of jurors for each verdict: 9-3 for life. On September 8, 2004, Coy J. Evans was convicted of 1st degree murder, burglary, armed kidnapping, armed robbery and fleeing and eluding law enforcement in the shooting death of Tallahassee police Sgt. Dale Green.
