Family and friends are painting a different picture of the man shot and killed by an off-duty Citrus County Sheriff's deputy late Wednesday in Inverness.
According to officials, 24-year-old Dep. Gregory Entrekin and his girlfriend were at her residence on Eden Drive when Derrick Vaccianna, 28, broke into the home at 10:45 p.m.
Officials said Vaccianna confronted Dep. Entrekin and his girlfriend. The break-in was not random, officials said, adding that all parties knew each other.
Following a brief verbal confrontation and struggle, Dep. Entrekin fired a shot, striking Vaccianna in the chest. Vaccianna was transported to Citrus Memorial Health System where he later died.
Dep. Entrekin was not injured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident as a burglary.
Vaccianna’s family and friends said he was an all-around good guy-not even close to the image they say the sheriff's office is portraying now.
"That's not the Derrick I knew,” said Whitney Wright, a former classmate. “Everybody gets in trouble and everybody has downfalls but the guy that I knew was a funny good-hearted guy."
Vaccianna’s family said he got caught up in a love triangle. Off-camera they told Bay News 9 Vaccianna had been dating the woman who lived in the home for about two years. They say they were shocked to learn she was seeing Dep. Entrekin at the same time.
As for the report that Vaccianna broke into the home, a friend told us off-camera he didn't need to break in because he had a key.
Even the neighbors said up until recently, Vaccianna stopped over all the time.
"Just recently I hadn't seen him there the last couple of weeks. And I said to my husband the other day, I haven't seen him around recently,” said Maydell Ernsting, a neighbor.
Officials said Dep. Entrekin was hired Aug. 6 of this year and was enrolled in the agency's Deputy Advanced Recruit Training (DART) program.
As is customary in these kinds of cases, Dep. Entrekin has been placed on paid administrative leave pending further notice.