- Illegal gambling cafe failed to report prior armed robbery, leading to security guard’s death
- Cafe owner faces massive lawsuit and efforts to shut down similar businesses
- Florida actively working to remove ‘internet sweepstakes cafes’ since 2013 law
When businesses are neglectful, especially if the neglect is purposeful, then they should pay the highest price as a consequence for intentionally putting others at risk for the sake of money. That appears to be exactly what is happening in this case.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, a jury in Gadsden County, Florida was awarded $779 million to the surviving family of an internet gambling cafe security guard named Lewis Butler, who was shot dead during a robbery in November 2023.
During the criminal trial, Kevontae Washington was convicted of several felonies, including first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree felony murder with a firearm, attempted armed robbery with a firearm, and several other charges. What makes this case particularly egregious is that just a week before this fatal incident, on Oct. 25, 2023, this illegal gambling venue was robbed, and a firearm was stolen.
However, ubiquitous civil rights attorney Ben Crump alleges that this robbery was not reported, likely to keep police away from discovering the illegal gambling. An investigator from the State Attorney’s Office testified that the gun that was stolen during the October robbery was also used to kill Butler.
“Café operated by Fortune MGT 2023 LLC and Manishkumar Patel, failed to report a prior armed robbery on Oct. 25, 2023 and ignored known security risks, despite allegedly being aware that illegal gambling activity took place at the location.”
The state of Florida has been actively trying to remove these types of businesses from the community since a 2013 law was passed to ban what are described as “internet sweepstakes cafes” following a federal task force initiative that closed almost fifty cafes that were being operated by Allied Veterans of the World, a local charity.
Collecting the massive award will likely prove difficult. Still, Crump says he and his staff are prepared to use all legal means, including garnishment, liens, and other methods of seizing owed funds to make restitution to Butler’s family. Additionally, Crump will be working with Butler’s widowed wife to get all these illegal outfits closed for good.
Via The Independent:
“The second thing is Mrs. Kimberly Butler testified, since her husband was murdered, she’s doing everything she can to try [and] get these internet gambling cafes shut down, because she thinks that they are an invitation for criminal activity,”
We pray that they recover every red cent of the $779 million, even if it takes decades.
