Man shot outside Oklahoma City Taco Bell now suing security guard
OKLAHOMA CITY OK July 17, 2022 A Taco Bell security guard is being sued on allegations of shooting a homeless man in the back last summer. The victim’s attorney is releasing security video of the incident to corroborate and validate the claims.
“I was shocked when I first saw that video,” said attorney Nicholas Elliott of West, Ylla and Gosney Law Firm. “I honestly couldn’t believe it. It was egregious.”
Elliott shared surveillance video with KFOR on Thursday which appears to show his client, Bradley Bishop – a homeless man – getting shot in the back by contracted security guard Antjuan Martin at a Taco Bell near Downtown Oklahoma City on July 9, 2021.
New details released on late night Oklahoma City Taco Bell shooting, security guard shoots man during physical altercation
Bishop claimed he only went inside the building, located at 936 W. Sheridan Ave., for a cup of water.
That’s when Elliott said his client was confronted by Martin.
“He approaches Mr. Bishop in an aggressive way, getting in his face, immediately starts shoving him,” he explained. “Bradley Bishop trips. At that point, Antjuan Martin starts beating him with a nightstick. He pushes him outside.”
The video shows their altercation spilling out into the parking lot where Bishop appears to hit Martin across the shoulder with a belt before walking off.
“Bradley turns, is leaving the scene, walking away from the parking lot, is many feet away from Antjuan Martin, and Mr. Martin decides at that point to fire four shots into the direction of Bradley, two of them hit him in his back and it nearly killed him,” Elliott explained.
Martin was criminally charged last year with assault and battery with a deadly weapon for the incident. A preliminary hearing conference is set to take place in August 2022.
Martin and the private security company he owns, Thunder and Lightening Protection and Marketing, are now facing a civil lawsuit from Bishop, who’s seeking compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of future earning capacity, as well as punitive damages.
“Bradley nearly lost his life from this incident,” Elliott said. “He still was dealing with the effects and likely will deal with the effects physically and mentally for the rest of his life. We also want to send a message and set a standard that companies that do things like this, individuals that do things like this, it’s not OK.”
The lawsuit also sues what Elliott calls the “owners and operators” of the Taco Bell, which include K-Mac Holdings Corporation, K-Mac Enterprises, Inc., Yum! Brands, Inc., and Taco Bell of America.
KFOR reached out to all four “owners and operators” listed as defendants in the lawsuit for comment but have not heard back yet.
We also reached out to Martin’s pre-litigation attorney but have yet to receive a response. In addition, we visited Martin’s security company twice this week, heard people inside, but no one would answer the door.
KFOR
