Family of 26-year-old shot and killed is suing Myrtle Beach rooftop bar where it happened

The family of a man who was shot and killed in 2018 at a popular oceanfront rooftop bar in Myrtle Beach is now suing the restaurant for his death.

A jury trial for the suit was set to begin Aug. 21, but it has been continued for 60 days, according to the Horry County Court of Clerk Office.

Mario Natanael Ramos, a representative for the estate of Roger Ivan Ramos, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against RipTydz Oceanfront Grille and Rooftop Bar and its parent company RipTydz Hospitality Group. A security firm, Platinum Protection Agency, also has been named in the suit.

Roopal Ruparelia, attorney for RipTydz, declined Aug. 18 to comment on the suit. Michael Smith Sr., attorney for Platinum Protection Agency, did not immediately return a phone message left Aug. 18.

Ramos claims in the suit that RipTydz, 1210 N. Ocean Blvd., was negligent in its operations on the night of Oct. 7, 2018, when Roger Ramos, an off-duty employee of the restaurant, was shot inside the bar and died of his injuries.

A message left for Ian Maguire, the attorney for Mario Ramos, was not returned.

The 26-year-old was killed after an encounter with Jakkari Brown. Police said that a fight started in the bar and Brown fired a gun, hitting the victim in the head.

Brown, of Toccoa, Georgia, was convicted in 2021 of murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, unlawful consumption of alcohol while carrying a concealed weapon and use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. Brown was sentenced to 35 years in prison - 30 years for the murder charge and five consecutive years on the possession of a weapon charge. The other gun and alcohol charges will run concurrently. He has filed an appeal in the case, according to the Public Index.

The suit claims that RipTydz “owed a duty to plan for and provide for the security and safety of its employees and customers.” Platinum Protection Agency provided security services at the bar, according to the suit.

In the months and years prior to the shooting, a number of crimes, including those that were violent, had been committed at or nearby RipTydz, the suit says. The suit says that the downtown Ocean Boulevard tourist strip, which includes the area of the restaurant, “was becoming known as a problem area for increasing incidents of violence, shootings and murders to the extent that Myrtle Beach had been infamously nicknamed ‘Murder Beach.’”

The restaurant had “notice” of such events that posed a heightened danger to its employees and customers, but did not take action to protect their safety, the suit says.

Roger Ramos had completed his shift as a waiter earlier in the night and stayed at RipTydz to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which the bar had purchased rights to stream, the suit says. The bar did not utilize metal detectors or other screening methods of customers to prevent them from carrying firearms into the event, the suit claims.

In addition, the suit says the bar “continuously served alcohol” to patrons and they became intoxicated and impaired, creating an “unruly and dangerous environment” to the point that “security could not control the situation.”

Ramos was trying to help his co-workers, who were on duty, to control the disturbance and break up fights involving intoxicated patrons, including fights involving Brown, the suit says.

The suit asks for damages that include medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses and other financial losses related to the death.