A wrongful death lawsuit filed this week contends a Gwinnett apartment complex is liable for the death of a man who died from a stray bullet there because the complex didn’t provide adequate security despite a history of crime on the property.
The lawsuit contends Bradford Gwinnett Apartments is liable for the death of Kevin Pierre, 23, who was fatally wounded on April 14 while he was chatting outside his home.
“If you know you have a crime problem, you have a duty to deter it,” said Matt Stoddard, the lawyer who filed the case Monday. “This place Bradford Gwinnett is like a crime haven.”
Gwinnett police crime reports pulled by Stoddard show scores of police calls, including batteries, burglaries, wanted persons and handful of aggravated assaults in the vicinity of the apartments over the year before Pierre was shot. The lawyer contends that is ample notice of a crime problem.
Attempts to reach Riverstone Residential Southeast, the main defendant, or its lawyers for comment were not immediately successful,
Police charged two people in the shooting a week after Pierre died. Quinton Troy Hall and Sherwin Richard Johnson were indicted last week on murder charges. Johnson was arrested in April; Hall is still at large.
Police described Pierre as a bystander to the conflict that escalated outside the apartments. Stoddard said Pierre, who was the son of Haitian immigrants, was attending college.
“He was not by any means a troublemaker,” the lawyer said. “He was an innocent victim who got hit by a stray bullet.
The lawsuit, which is filed in DeKalb County State Court by Pierre’s parents and sister, does not name a total dollar figure but asks for damages to cover the value of Pierre’s expected lifetime earnings, $10,000 in burial and funeral expenses, other expenses from Riverstone Residential Southeast and other parties. It also seeks unspecified punitive damages that the jury can impose to punish the business for wrong doing. Lawsuits are filed in the defendant’s home county.
Gwinnett Police ask that anyone with information on Quinton Troy Hall’s whereabouts to contact Crime Stoppers at 404-557-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimestoppersatlanta.org. Crime Stoppers tipsters are eligible to receive up to $2000 for information leading to Hall’s capture. To speak with a GCPD Homicide detective, please contact 770-513-5300.
About the Author
