Opa-Locka, FL – Palmer Properties has agreed to a $1 Million pre-suit policy limits settlement with the Estate of Wayne Mitchell who was killed by a neighbor at a Palmer Property-owned apartment complex.
Mitchell was shot and killed two days after his 50th birthday on the grounds of an apartment complex located at 2170 Washington Avenue in Opa-Locka, Florida. On January 7, 2019, Carlos Flores ambushed Mitchell in a hallway of the apartment complex both men lived in. Flores shot Mitchell as he exited his own unit. An investigation revealed that Flores, who had a violent and lengthy criminal history, was jealous that the building had hired Mitchell instead of him as a handyman.
Building management failed to conduct a background check on Flores before allowing him to rent a unit. The background check would have revealed Flores’ criminal history which included several charges involving a weapon.
Partner Todd Michaels and associate attorney Adam Finkel of The Haggard Law Firm (HaggardLawFirm.com) represented Mitchell’s son Antonio in the negligent security wrongful death case. He says this was a preventable tragedy. “The apartment complex, despite being in a high crime neighborhood employed no security features or personnel,” says Michaels. He added the key to the case was based on Palmer Properties not following its own rules. “If the company simply followed its policy in performing a background check, Flores would not have been allowed to rent a unit at the building.”
