GILCHRIST COUNTY, Fla. — The family of Koty Stewart, the Jacksonville man killed in a shooting at Ginnie Springs during Memorial Day weekend, has filed a lawsuit against Ginnie Springs, claiming negligence caused his death.
The family is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 from Ginnie Springs Outdoors, LLC, the company that owns the Ginnie Springs grounds.
The complaint filed in the lawsuit says that this money is owed to repay "mental pain and suffering" for both Stewart's wife and his child, as well as loss of monetary support due to his death and his funeral costs.
The document says that Ginnie Springs is responsible for Stewart's death because they failed to provide proper security. This is broken down in to several items, including failing to "warn visitors, guests, invitees and the public of the nature and character of its premises," when it "knew" that "numerous criminal incidents and dangerous activities occurred" at the springs.
The lawsuit also says that Ginnie Springs failed to hire adequate security personnel, failed to provide "proper and sufficient lighting," and failed to implement surveillance on site.
The lawsuit alleges that the inadequate security measures "failed to prevent a man with a loaded gun to traverse multiple areas of the Subject Premises," leading to Stewart's shooting death.
First Coast News called Ginnie Springs after hours. We were not able to leave a message and are waiting to hear back.
There was also another shooting at the springs that weekend, which injured two and killed Marco Mandujano, 26, from Morriston.
On June 3, days after Stewart's death, the Gilchrist County Council met to discuss improving security at the springs. The council plans to create a committee to discuss the issue further.
What happened?
The Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office arrested 18-year-old Fisher Watts, charging him with first-degree murder in Stewart's death.
Fisher Watts' brother, Dallas Watts, was also arrested in connection to the crime. According to Dallas Watts' arrest report, his brother confessed to him that he killed Stewart.
A witness told police that the group he was with, including Stewart, had been in a fight with the Watts brothers and the group they were with hours before the shooting. After the fight, both parties "shook hands," and went about their business. The witness said that later that night, he heard gunshots.
According to the report, the witness then saw Stewart on the ground next to Dallas Watts's truck. He said he saw Dallas Watts waving a gun around, but "felt like Dallas was trying to make sure his brother, Fisher, was okay."
Stewart's aunt, Mindy Stewart, told First Coast News "nothing was more important to him than his wife and two children."
"He lived his life for them," she said.
Mindy Stewart said now, her family just wants justice for Koty.
