The family of a man who was shot and killed while trying to detain a car thief on his property has settled a lawsuit against the homeowners’ association and property manager of his gated community for $1 million after they failed to repair a security gate or hire a guard that could have kept his assailant out of the neighborhood, the family’s attorneys report.
Blankenship
David Yarborough and Reynolds Blankenship Jr. of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston and Marvin R. Pendarvis of Peper Law Firm in Charleston report that Henry Brown, who was 71, discovered that thieves had entered his North Charleston neighborhood in August 2017 and stolen his neighbor’s car and the keys out of Brown’s car.
The thieves returned the next night. Brown’s neighbor confronted them, and Brown went outside with a gun and fired warning shots in an effort to help her, Blankenship said. Brown wound up pinning one of the men to the ground as the neighbor ran for help. As they waited for police to arrive, the man that Brown had pinned down reached for a gun and shot Brown in the head. He died instantly.
“All we know is that [the shooter] had a gun in his waistband and he pulled it out and shot him,” Blankenship said.
Pendarvis
Two weeks earlier, lightning had struck and damaged the neighborhood’s guard house and security gate. Blankenship said that the community’s HOA and property management had made no effort to provide security measures, such as hiring nighttime guards, Blankenship said. Brown and his neighbor had both reported the thefts to the daytime guards, the property manager, and the police, Blankenship said.
Brown’s family contended that the HOA and the property manager had voluntarily undertaken a duty to provide security against unauthorized vehicular access and failed to maintain that security at a reasonable level after the gate broke. Their attorneys obtained an affidavit from one of the thieves, who said that they never would have entered the neighborhood if there’d been someone at the guardhouse.
Yarborough
The defense said that Brown should have stayed inside and “vehemently hammered on that, and understandably so,” Blankenship said.
The shooter, Leon Holmes, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The two other men involved in the crime were convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
John “Jay” McDonald Jr., of Clawson and Staubes in Charleston represented the HOA and the property management company. He could not be reached for comment.
Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzosclw
SETTLEMENT REPORT — WRONGFUL DEATH
Amount: $1 million
Injuries alleged: Death
Case name: Brown v. The Park Recreational Development, Inc., and Spectrum Properties, Inc.
Court: Charleston County Circuit Court
Case No.: 2018-10-CP-4210
Mediator: John Tiller of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in Charleston
Date of settlement: Sept. 11
Special damages: $110,000 (lost military benefits)
Attorneys for plaintiff: David Yarborough and Reynolds Blankenship Jr. of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston and Marvin Pendarvis of Peper Law Firm in Charleston
Attorneys for defendant: John “Jay” McDonald Jr. of Clawson and Staubes in Charleston