Doral mass shooting victims’ lawsuit says Martini Bar and CityPlace Doral were negligent
The fiancee of a Kendall man critically wounded in the April 6 mass shooting at Doral’s Martini Bar and her brother, who is in an intensive care unit, are filing a civil lawsuit alleging negligence by the club and CityPlace Doral on the night of the shooting.
In the aftermath of gunman Jamal Wood killing Martini Bar security guard George Castellanos, including Wood being shot dead by Doral police, 30-year-old Yaniris Jerez was shot in the leg. Her brother, Miguel Jerez, 34, was shot in the stomach and is in the ICU at Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center.
Yaniris’ fiancee, 38-year-old Carlos Milan, remains in critical condition at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, according to the GoFundMe posted on Yaniris’ Facebook account, taking four gunshot wounds. The three were among the seven injured in the shooting, including a Doral police officer.
“This tragic event underscores a profound failure in certain security measures implemented by CityPlace Doral and Martini Bar Doral,” says a press release from The Ferraro Group, the Miami law firm representing the Jerezes.
“In an environment where families and friends gather to unwind and socialize, the last thing on anyone’s mind should be safety concerns,” remarked the firm’s Jim Ferraro.
State records say Martini Bar is owned by MB Direct LLC, which is owned by Louis J. Terminello, Barry Kates and Gerard Patrick “Joe” Delaney, who was shot twice on April 6th and just returned home after four surgeries.
Martini Bar ownership said, “We don’t comment on pending litigation.”
The bar will reopen for the first time since the shooting at 7 p.m. Thursday. All profits from the night will go to 14-month-old Everlyn✓ Marie Castellanos, George Castellanos’ 14-month-old daughter.
Milan and Jerez have two children together. Miguel Jerez has one child.
Others wounded in the shooting include one of the Doral officers, who hasn’t been identified; Lester Williams Gonzalez, 28; and Sonia Muñoz Torres, 48. The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m.
In an April 10 Doral City Council workshop, Mayor Christi Fraga proposed a review of decade-old policies concerning alcohol sales, included closing times of bars and clubs in the city. Since those policies went into effect, Downtown Doral opened in 2016 and CityPlace Doral opened in 2017.
But, aside from the mayor, only one city council member showed up for the workshop.
Councilwoman Maureen Porras, who was absent for the workshop, told the Herald the city “must ensure that Martini Bar complies with our current ordinance that limits serving alcohol until 2 a.m. while we determine what changes we will make to our alcohol regulations.”
Porras explained that the Doral City Council discussion on this will be postponed until May 8 to ensure that the changes are complete and comprehensive. At the workshop last week, Fraga had said the issue would be taken up at the April 24 council meeting but there wasn’t sufficient time to announce the meeting to the public, so the meeting was pushed back.
