--- description: Juan Mendez, 23, was fatally shot by his cousin after musing aloud whether a bulletproof vest he had just put on "still worked." title: Florida Man Dies Finding Out Whether Bulletproof Vest Works image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Florida Man Died Finding Out Whether Bulletproof Vest 'Still Worked' by [Dominique Rowe](/author/dominique-rowe/) ## Dominique Rowe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 12, 2016 9:34 AM CUT by [Dominique Rowe](/author/dominique-rowe/) ## Dominique Rowe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 12, 2016 9:34 AM CUT Juan Mendez, 23, was [fatally shot in the chest](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/11/florida-man-shot-dead-bulletproof-vest "undefined") on Saturday after musing out loud whether a bulletproof vest he had just put on “still worked.” The man’s cousin reportedly pulled out a gun and said “Let’s see,” stated a Tampa Police report [cited by the _Guardian_.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/11/florida-man-shot-dead-bulletproof-vest "undefined") Alexandro Garibaldi, 24, initially told police that Mendez was shot by a rogue bullet. However, a witness later came forward with a different version of events, and a damaged bulletproof vest was found in the house, the Guardian reports. Garibaldi is being held without bail [on a charge of manslaughter and felon in possession of weapon. ](http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/cousins-decide-to-test-out-bullet-proof-vest-1-dead/316670536 "undefined") \[[Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/11/florida-man-shot-dead-bulletproof-vest "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4487135/florida-bullet-proof-vest-worked-shot-cousin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4487135/florida-bullet-proof-vest-worked-shot-cousin/"},"headline":"A Florida Man Died Finding Out Whether Bulletproof Vest 'Still Worked'","datePublished":"2016-09-12T09:34:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:31:25.956Z","description":"His cousin is being held without bail on a charge of manslaughter","url":"https://time.com/4487135/florida-bullet-proof-vest-worked-shot-cousin/","keywords":["Crime","shooting","Gun Violence","Florida"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dominique Rowe","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dominique-rowe/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4487135/florida-bullet-proof-vest-worked-shot-cousin/","name":"A Florida Man Died Finding Out Whether Bulletproof Vest 'Still Worked'"}}]}] ```