Security guard shot during robbery sues businesses
Harris County TX Nov 12 2021 Brian Williams accepted a job as a security guard for the Five Guys restaurant at the northeast corner of North Shepherd Drive and Loop 610.
Two years after the off-duty constable’s deputy was shot in the arm during a robbery at the hamburger chain, he is suing the franchisee and the parent corporation – as well as the property owner, property management company and real estate developer – for allegedly creating a dangerous environment that led to the crime and his injury.
Williams, a 41-year-old Tomball resident who according to his attorney continues to work as a deputy for the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, filed his civil lawsuit Oct. 15 in Harris County District Court and is seeking more than $1 million in damages. Attorney William G. Hagans of Houston law firm Hagans Montgomery Hagan said his client was shot in the right forearm on the night of Oct. 16, 2019, while in the dimly lit parking lot outside Five Guys, 2902 N. Shepherd Dr.
Hagans said Williams does not plan to sue Keith Lamar Thomas, 27, who pleaded guilty to the robbery and shooting in March and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison, according to a report by Houston television station ABC13.
“There’s the act itself that happened. Then there’s the entire failure by corporations is what this is about,” Hagans said. “This is where corporations knew how to avoid it, knew what they needed to do and made decisions that put everybody in jeopardy.”
The lawsuit names six defendants – Five Guys Enterprises, LLC; Five Guys Operations, LLC; BK Shepherd Ltd.; BK Fairmont Ltd.; Raetta Building and Development Corporation; and Baker Katz Management, LLC. The latter four companies are based in Houston, and BK Shepherd Ltd. is the property owner, according to the Harris County Appraisal District website.
The Five Guys corporate office did not respond to a Tuesday voicemail and email seeking comment. Kenneth Katz and M. Marvin Katz, who the lawsuit cites as the registered agents for the four Houston-based companies, did not respond to voicemails seeking comment that were left at their offices Tuesday.
Hagans said the crux of Williams’ complaint is the lighting at the property when it is dark, during which time Five Guys stays open and the other businesses in the strip center are typically closed. The lawsuit states that minimal lighting in the parking lot causes the light inside the restaurant to serve as a “beacon to all: both inviting to a criminal element and totally blinding to what is outside the door to anyone inside.”
