‘She protected herself': Family demands justice for women charged in deadly shooting of alleged car burglar

Family gathered to protest in the streets of Wynwood on Sunday, to demand justice for the Miami women charged in the deadly shooting of an alleged car burglar.

Police said Antwoinse Lachaveia Clark, 36, and Fredericka Sherice Pickett-Wilson, 29, confronted the burglar, when they noticed him rummaging through their car belongings back in March.

According to a police report, the couple confronted the burglar who investigators say punched Pickett-Smith in the face, then ran off with a bag that had cash inside.

Police said the couple chased him to try get the bag back, and at one point, pepper sprayed him. However, Clark then allegedly shot him three times.

Loved ones, including Pickett-Wilson's mother, claim it was all in self-defense.

"Just for me, freedom for me is letting my child go. Drop all charges. She didn’t do anything, nothing. She protected herself," Sherice Latimore explained.

Police say the burglar, whose name has not been released, died a month after the shooting. Both women were then charged with second degree murder.

Pickett-Wilson's mother insists the charges are a mistake, noting that her daughter has no prior criminal history.

"My baby has never been arrested ever, all she does is be with her kids. That’s all she knows," Latimore added.

City of Miami Police told NBC6 there was a gun inside the bag and the shooter denied knowing it was there.

“The victims, which were the two arrested in this case, would’ve just held him down and waited for police to respond. We would have arrested him and they would have been the victims in this case, and that’s how this case would’ve gone. But when they followed him, they chased him down. He was no longer a threat to them,” said Michael Vega, a City of Miami Police spokesperson. “They followed him and shot him. That became a crime.”

Both women are being held without bond. Family members told NBC6 that they plan to continue protesting.