A Florida jury awarded $779 million to the family of a security guard who was shot at an internet cafe during a failed robbery, siding with allegations in a wrongful death lawsuit that assert the killing was preventable.
In November 2023, Lewis Butler was shot to death during an armed robbery at an internet cafe in Havana, Florida, while attempting to protect a cashier. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the cashier, DeeAnna Evans, was wounded in the attack but survived her injuries.
The man accused of killing Butler, 21-year-old Kevontae Washington, was convicted by a jury of several charges, including first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree felony murder with a firearm, and attempted armed robbery with a firearm. Washington is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Butler’s family later filed a lawsuit claiming that the security guard might still be alive had the café’s business owners, Fortune MGT 2023 LLC and Manishkumar Patel, taken appropriate precautions when the business was robbed at gunpoint three weeks before the robbery attempt that resulted in Butler’s death.
According to the complaint, a State Attorney’s Office investigator discovered that a firearm was stolen from the business, and that same firearm was later used in the robbery in which Butler was killed.
The suit further alleges that the earlier robbery was not reported to the police, citing that the owners and managers of the business knew that illegal gambling took place at the café.
By not involving police and correcting security risks, the business facilitated a dangerous environment that culminated in a second robbery that jeopardized Butler’s life, the complaint alleges.
According to WCTV, Butler’s family was awarded more than $12,000 for medical and funeral expenses, $4 million in damages for the loss of Lewis Butler’s support and services, including income and routine tasks, $225 million for the loss of Lewis’ companionship and protection, and finally, $550 million for the pain and suffering that Butler’s widow, Kimberly, endured after her husband’s death.
The multi-million dollar verdict in the case is believed to be the largest in Gadsden County history.
“Obviously, we want to compensate the family for this monumental loss that they suffered, this monumental wrong that this jury verdict helped to have a monumental right,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said.
Kimberly Butler is now calling for state legislators and the Florida Gaming Control Commission to intensify efforts to shut down illegal internet gambling cafés across the state and increase penalties and oversight for owners and operators.
“There’s definitely some changes needed. Some attention needs to be brought,” Butler said. “He put himself in the line of fire to save someone else’s life. My only hope and my prayer is that we can get this bill passed, the Lewis Butler bill passed, to close down these illegal internet gambling cafes.”
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida amended its laws in 2013 in an attempt to root out cybercafés.
These businesses charge patrons an hourly fee to access computer and internet services but inch into illegal territory when they offer unlicensed gambling services, like slot or poker-like games with cash payouts, disguised as sweepstakes businesses.
Authorities in Florida said uprooting operations have been difficult because offenders are typically convicted of misdemeanors and will launch new parlors elsewhere after paying their fines or serving brief stints in jail.
