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13-Year-Old Killed At Apartment, Mother Settles Lawsuit

By Eddie Farah

The mother of a 13-year-old Jacksonville girl, killed by a stray bullet fired within her apartment complex, has settled her lawsuit against the property owner.

Tina Williams filed the lawsuit against Hartwood Place Apartments in Jacksonville. She claimed if the apartments had better security her daughter, Shenice Holmes, would be alive today. Shenice was killed as she read a book on her bed. The shooter, 21-year-old Willie O. Tucker is serving a life sentence in her death.

The specifics of the settlement are confidential.

Over the past 15 years, appellate courts across the country have found that a landowner has a duty to provide adequate security when there is a history of criminal activity on or near the property.

In the case of Shenice, there had been a dozen violent crimes around and in the complex, including two cases where bullets were fired into apartments.

A failure to protect residents amounts to negligent security and it can be applied to any commercial property, whether an apartment complex, a rental car lot, an office building or storage unit.

An experience personal injury attorney, along with a security expert can determine if there was any foreseeable risk of danger, such as a history of similar crimes at the property, or crimes have occurred in the area.

For consumers considering renting an apartment, investigate whether areas of the commercial property - the entrances and exits, the lighting, the locking and security measures - are adequate to protect anyone from violent crime.

Anyone operating a commercial property is also obligated to perform criminal background checks on all employees with access to the property, to adequately screen new tenants, to have security procedures, and to warn anyone using the property about any problems or criminal activities on or near the property.

Obviously that didn’t happen here and it resulted in the death of a beautiful young lady. We are sorry for your loss.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on October 17, 2008 (boomark / email).