JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
The family of a 22-year-old man, who was murdered by a teenager in 2014 at Eureka Gardens, has filed a lawsuit against the property owners, claiming that the apartment complex on Jacksonville's Westside has had poor security for years.
The negligence security lawsuit comes days after police said three gunmen fired more than 50 rounds into a group of people at Eureka Gardens early Monday, injuring seven.
But the parents of Christopher Cornelio said they believe improved security may have prevented their son's murder, this week's mass shooting and other violent crimes over the past years.
In March 2014, Cornelio was shot and killed by 15-year-old Andrew Parham at a house party at Eureka Gardens that Parham and two others crashed.
All three suspects pleaded out in the case. Parham received 17 years in prison. The other two people, who were not charged with murder, got five and three years in prison.
The attorney representing Cornelio's family, Jason Brenner with Haggard Law Firm, said the property manager at the time of Cornelio's murder has since been fired. But Brenner said it shouldn't take a decade of crime to increase security in the area.
"He was adopted by two individuals that loved him. And he was a father to her young child. And our expenses in these cases, it's easy to say that time heels all, but the reality is that it never does. And a loss will never be filled," Brenner said.
Brenner said the prior owner of Eureka Gardens utilized off-duty officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Then when the Global Ministries Foundation acquired the property in December 2012, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development required that the hours of the off-duty officers be increased, Brenner said.
But Brenner said his firm is still trying to find evidence to see if that ever happened.
"Guns being used during crimes, assault rifles, guns being brandished, people being physically attacked. And I can say, for our litigation, that we found that there was never any assessment done with respect to whether or not the security was working. JSO is doing what they can do. But the responsibility rests with the owner and the people that they have put in charge of that property," Brenner said.
Brenner said Monday's mass shooting is another prime example of why things need to change, so that another life of a father, a son or a loved one is not taken.
A trial date for the case is expected to be set next month and Brenner said they expect the trial to begin sometime next year.
City, national leaders question safety at Eureka Gardens
Following the mass shooting, the federal government stepped in to require security changes at Eureka Gardens.
HUD announced Tuesday that it will require GMF, which owns Eureka Gardens and several other complexes in Jacksonville, to hire a private security consultant to make recommendations on how to increase security and safety at the property.
Representatives of HUD will then review the consultant's report and work with the owner to make needed changes.
HUD officials, who met with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, and city leaders in Jacksonville on Tuesday said GMF was informed of the requirements Tuesday.
During the meeting, HUD representatives told Nelson that GMF has a buyer lined up for its Jacksonville properties and that the sale could be final by the end of September. Two of the Jacksonville properties -- Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights -- have been the subject of an ongoing News4Jax I-TEAM investigation into deplorable living conditions at the federally subsidized properties.
“No American citizen should have to live in substandard conditions that are supported by the taxpayers' money of the federal government, and that just gets it down to the bottom line,” Nelson said Tuesday.
The shooting also prompted local leaders to call for 24-hour security at the federally-subsidized complex.
GMF currently employs a security company that roams between Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights. The company said that at the time of the shooting, its patrols were on duty at Washington Heights.
Chief Marcus Williams, of Protective Enterprises of Florida, said the neighborhood has been put on high alert, meaning that the maximum number of patrols allowed are being placed in the complex.
A couple dozen Eureka Gardens residents were at an emergency meeting Monday, along with U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Florida, who shared a letter she wrote to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro requesting that HUD immediately provide dedicated 24-hour security at both Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights. She also asked about security gates and upgraded security cameras.
“We need cameras, gates, 24-hour security, not just in this property but the other property (Washington Heights). This has been a bipartisan issue,” Brown said. “This has been going on for some time now. We want them to act and act now.”
Brown said the HUD budget has been cut drastically and she has dealt with a similar scenario for housing in Sanford. She said it took years for that to be resolved. She believes, however, that the needs of Eureka Gardens and Washington Heights can be improved quickly.
“Our No. 1 responsibility is to make sure the residents are safe,” Brown said. “That’s the first thing, and they are not safe.”
GMF issued a statement Monday addressing residents' safety concerns:
Our hearts go out to those who were injured by the brazen actions of the criminals who appeared during the night at Eureka and terrorized the families living there and in the surrounding community. We are actively working closely with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to help identify those responsible and bring them to justice swiftly. Though we know of no Section 8 owner that has 24/7 armed guards, Eureka Gardens has targeted paid security and surveillance technology to cover the expansive multi-block, family-style community. To support the JSO and City leaders as they tackle the high rates of violent crime in the area, GMF significantly increased security measures as soon as we purchased the property. It is precisely this type of unlawful activity that has made the job of providing Jacksonville families with safe and affordable housing extremely difficult, as those in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day can attest.”