Ex's New Man Shot Dead by Scorned Lover

A Florida woman used a gun to solve her. relationship problems, bursting [music]. into her ex's apartment and shooting the. man in her bed. She's crazy. I know. she's crazy. I've seen her like. trying to break my window, and then I. seen her shoot at my car like two, three, four times. Laquoria Washington. was convicted of shooting Jason. Campbell, who stumbled out of a fifth. floor apartment, [music] leaving a trail. of blood behind as he tried to get. outside and find help. He was soon found. dead in the parking lot wearing only the. boxers that he'd been sleeping in. >> [music]. >> He was laying downstairs in the parking.

lot, and he's bleeding and still alive. I'm trying to call And the shooter took. off, tried to hide out in another. county, >> [music]. >> but police tracked her down. You got. warrants for charges of first-degree. murder, burglary. And it wasn't just. Washington's [music] arrest and eventual. conviction that made headlines. No, Jason's family filed a massive lawsuit. [music] against the apartment complex. and the security team that arguably. could have [music] prevented his death. And a jury agreed, awarded them a huge.

sum. We're going to be sitting [music]. down with the law firm behind this. lawsuit, our sponsor Morgan & Morgan. [music] They were able to secure a $100. million verdict for the family members. that Jason leaves behind. Welcome to. Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. By the way, one of the reasons we can. follow a story like this is because of. the incredible support that we get from. our sponsor Morgan & Morgan. This is. America's largest personal injury law. firm. This is a firm with over a.

thousand attorneys who've recovered $25. billion for more than 500,000 clients. In the past few months alone, a client. in Florida received $12 million when. insurance offered just $350,000. Out in Pennsylvania, another client was. awarded $26 million. That is 40 times. the insurer's offer. And Morgan &. Morgan, they make it easy to fight for. what you deserve. You can even start a. claim from your phone. So, if you're. injured, you can start a claim at. forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. You can click the link below or you can. scan the QR code on screen.

Jason Campbell, father to three young. children, the son of a former Florida. state senator, he was just 23 years old. when he was gunned down inside of a. Miami area apartment. And while his. girlfriend's ex stood trial for his. murder, his devastated family filed a. massive wrongful death lawsuit saying if. the complex had just followed its own. rules, Jason would still be alive today. And you know what? The jury agreed,

returned a $100 million verdict in the. Campbell family's favor. And in just a. minute, I'm going to be sitting down. with two distinguished attorneys from. the powerhouse law firm, our sponsor. Morgan & Morgan, to talk about how they. got involved in this case, how they were. able to make such a massive win happen, and what's happening right now. But. first, I can't get into that if I don't. give you the details. So, we got to dig. into what happened back in 2021 at the. Monte Carlo. Now, I just got to give you. a quick note. The units at Monte Carlo, they're referred to as condos and. apartments pretty much interchangeably.

throughout the investigation because. some of the units are up for rent. Just. want to keep that in mind. But in the. Campbell family lawsuit, the defendant. is identified as Monte Carlo of Miami. Condominium Association Inc. Okay. Now, according to multiple police and court. records, it was just after 8:00 a.m. on. Tuesday, June 1st, 2021 when Miami. dispatchers started to get these frantic. 911 phone calls. A man's body was in the. parking lot of the complex laying on the. ground between two cars. And witnesses.

said they heard someone crying out for. help. Okay, tell me exactly what. happened. I don't know. I see I see food yelling and stuff, and. he bleeding everywhere. And. Damn, man. I don't know what's going on, man. He got shot like right here. Blood that. was started right like right. >> Okay, is he. Sorry, So, he Is he breathing? I don't know. He look like he. He drunk He drunk some flare, but you. know what that mean, man. Yo.

Yo, man. Did you say he. So, was he shot? I don't know. I don't know. Is this 911? Yeah, man. They actually got the wrong. person. Just think about it, man. We already have Sorry, we already have a. path there. Hello. >> Ashley with dispatch. Where's your. emergency? Hi, I have somebody who's I don't know. any questions. Please don't ask me any. I just know this guy is shot on the. ground. That's all I know. And he's And he's dying. Okay. That's.

all I know. Can you send somebody over? Can you tell me where the guy. >> Yes or no? And when police got to the. scene, they spotted something that would make. the hairs on the back of their necks. stand up. A trail of blood leading from. Jason's body back into the building and. all the way up to the stairs to the. fifth floor. Bloody handprints were even. found on the walls of the stairwell. where Jason had fallen in his desperate. attempt to try to get away from his. killer and find help. But his struggle. would end on the pavement outside. And.

here's the thing. Jason didn't even live at this place. He. didn't even live at the Monte Carlo. The. woman he was seeing did. I'm talking. about Shanti Andrews. Now, she had. previously been in a relationship with. another woman, Laquoria Washington, okay, the defendant in this case. Andrews had even told police that she. had issues with Washington that went. back years including threats and. violence. She spoke with an officer. about it during an interview concerning. a different interaction with Washington, which we're going to get into in just a. minute, but take a look at this.

What's the relationship between you. guys? That's my ex-girlfriend. When you say ex-girlfriend, just, you. know, clarification, is that a romantic. relationship or. >> Romantic, yes. Okay. How long you guys. dated? Uh for some years. Years? Yes. You guys ever live together? No. All right. And how long ago you broke. up? Uh. months ago. Months ago? Mhm. Okay. So, security said they let her she let. her in. And what happened?

So, she let her in and I had went back. in my apartment and locked the door and. she started banging on the door. Okay. Uh. you locked the door. You guys had any. previous problems? Um. not recently. What is not recently? When was the last. time you had a problem? >> the past few months, no. Not recently. And did she do anything in. the past that would raise your concern. to lock the door? She crazy. I know she crazy. Has she ever threatened to do anything.

stupid or she ever um Not to this. extent, no. Okay. What on what extent? Like shooting. at my car, not to that extent. I know, but what she's done before? She just. like cuss me out. Typical cuss me out. >> All right. So, according to Mears, she. and Jason were in bed at 8:00 a.m. that. Tuesday when there was a knock at the. door. Now, Mears told police that she. assumed it was just somebody from. maintenance or pest control. And this is. when she made a critical mistake. She.

apparently didn't check the peephole. before she unlocked and opened the door. And it was Washington. Washington pushed. past her into the apartment's bedroom. and fired, hitting Jason in the chest. Crime scene photos show a bullet hole in. the wall, a shell casing on the floor, and police quickly determined that. Washington was in fact their prime. suspect and that she wasn't even allowed. to be on that property in the first. place. Because that takes us back to. around 3 months before this killing.

This is when Mears apparently had a. different person visiting her, not Jason. Campbell, but either way, it seems. Washington was not happy. I noticed I. had a missed call from the front gate, so I called them back. Yeah. I was like, "Hey, I have a missed call from you.". So and so and so and then the lady was. like, "Oh yeah, you had a you had a. guest at the front gate.". I let her in. I was like, "Who did you. let in?". And she said, "Lacoya." And I was like, "You let her in the gate. You wasn't. supposed to let her in the gate." And. she was like, "Oh, I didn't know." She.

said you you she was coming. I said, "That's not how that works. You're. supposed to call me. I'm not supposed to. give you permission. If I don't answer. the gate, then you don't let them in. Yeah. You tell them to turn around or. keep pushing or they got to wait until I. answer the phone. So by that time she. was already. in the complex. She crazy. I know she. crazy. She was banging on the door? >> She was banging on my door for a good 15. minutes. Do you have like a. peephole or. >> have a peephole. So you look, you saw it. was her? She was like trying to cover it. sometimes and then sometimes I could see. her and I could see her knocking on the.

door. Did you see what she was wearing? She had on a white t-shirt. A white. t-shirt? >> Mhm. All right. Did she have anything on her hands? Did. you see it? She had a gun in her hand. Which hand? Both. In her right hand. Okay. What kind of. gun was it? Did you see it? I'm not. familiar with guns. I'm not sure. Was it. black? Gray. Okay. Have you ever seen. her with a gun before? Um. No, not recently.

Have you ever ever. Have you ever seen her with a gun? Yes. Okay. And what did you see? >> When I was looking through the bedroom. window, I seen her standing by my car. and I seen her. trying to break my window and then I. seen her shoot at my car a good three, four times. Even though you guys had a. relationship, I have to. get her information, do a photo lineup. Once I have the photo lineup ready, I'm. going to call you, schedule with you, uh come in here with another detective. that has no clue about this, present to. you the photo lineup, you ID her. Once.

you ID her, then I have probable cause to arrest. her. So then go and arrest So, you can't. arrest her right now? No, you have to do a photo lineup first. So, that's going to be on Tuesday. Cuz I'm off today, Monday. So, on Tuesday I'll I'll put a photo. lineup. I'll call you. Uh we'll meet. I'll do a photo lineup, and then we can do the process to arrest. her. Surveillance footage that was. released by investigators even. corroborates what Mears told them.

because in one video, you can see. Washington drive up to the guard stack. at the Monte Carlo. She waits while. security calls Mears. Then she's. eventually allowed through, and then the. security camera footage from inside. Mears building shows Washington getting. into the elevator. Then a few minutes. later, surveillance shows Washington. coming back out into the parking lot. heading for a car on the left-hand side. of the screen. And according to a police. report, Washington shot out the front. passenger window of Mears black. Mercedes-Benz, then takes off running. across the parking lot. But I'll tell.

you what, her crime spree didn't end. there because it's kind of difficult to. see in the surveillance, but on the way. back to her own car, police claim. Washington fired at least two shots at a. red Infiniti which belonged to the man. in Mears apartment. And then Washington. apparently hopped back into her own car. and took off. Investigators found five. .40 caliber casings at the scene. And in. addition to recklessly causing damage to. the two cars, when you do a search of. Washington's criminal history, it shows. convictions for multiple prior crimes. As a felon, she wasn't supposed to have.

a gun or ammunition, but it was. abundantly clear from the video that she. had both. Charges connected that. shooting would later be rolled into her. murder case. And a couple weeks after. that shooting in March, police spoke. with Mears again. Except this time, she. was reluctant to say much on the record. So, going back to. February 22nd, when I. or the police went to your. apartment complex over there, what was the reason the police went. there?

Um. Honestly, I feel more comfortable. doing all this with legal. representation. You're not under arrest. I know, but I. feel more comfortable doing it with a. lawyer. You understand what the state. attorney told you, right? Um. somewhat. Okay. So, you don't want to talk to me. right now. I feel more comfortable with a lawyer. So, you don't want to talk to me right. now.

Until I get a lawyer. Okay. You're not under arrest. I'm not. asking you incriminating questions, so. you don't have that right right now. You You're talking to me as a witness. and a victim. So, the Miranda warnings or you know, have the right to remain silent doesn't. work right now. >> a witness or a victim. Okay. No problem. So, you also don't. want to do the photo lineup? I just want. to do it with a lawyer. Okay. No. problem. The state attorney going to contact you.

And just 3 months later, Washington. would be back on that Monte Carlo. property despite a sign in the. guardhouse alerting security that her. vehicle was banned. One day after Jason was shot and killed, detectives spoke with the guard who was. on duty the previous morning. This is. Deshawn Atkins. What are your duties or patrol area. within. your job? It's a logging visitors. when they come in through the gate. And that's the front gate, correct? Correct. And just to verify, there's only one.

entrance and one exit, correct? Correct. Were you working at the Monte Carlos. apartment on yesterday, June 1st, 2021? Yes. What was your shift yesterday? 7:00 to 3:00. What time did you start work? At 7:00. At some point during the day yesterday, did you become aware of an incident. involving one of your tenants in the. complex? Yes. Do you know what the incident was about.

or where. what apartment it occurred in? Not at the moment until after. afterwards, after the police came and. everything was settled and then a lot. of, you know, resident was coming and. telling me. So, the detective showed. Atkins a set of photographs and she was. able to identify both Mears and. Washington, though she referred to Mears. as Ms. Mills. When you say her. girlfriend, who are you referring to? Ms. Mills. Resident.

For the record, the person in number. photograph number two is Laquoria. Washington. And you state she's the girlfriend of. the. And. how do you know that information? Because a while back, couple of months. ago, she came inside and she shot.

the girl Mears' car and a um a. gentleman's car. And. once the um. we did all our little um investigation. and we found out that it was her. girlfriend. And so, that's how, you. know, I know that's, you know, they say. it's her girlfriend. Okay. If I'm correct, after that incident, it. was documented on February 22nd, 2021. Mhm. Did the apartment complex put out.

information pertaining to her? Um well, the only thing they um put out. to her that her vehicle that she was in. could not come on the um premises. anymore, on the property. Okay. I also showed you a photograph depicted. as number three of a person. that was caught on video surveillance. entering the complex. I'm going to show. you that same photograph now. You looked at that photograph and.

identified that photograph. as the same person we're talking about. Yes. You stated on the photograph that. this is the also the girlfriend. of the person. as she walked in yesterday. Yesterday. morning, yes. >> morning. And you. >> right before 8:00. This she was. And in this photograph she's wearing Can. you tell me what she's wearing? All. black, a black hoodie with um black and. yellow slides.

And this is the person you saw yesterday. morning, correct? And Atkins confirms. that she saw Washington the morning of. the shooting, but she wasn't in the. banned vehicle. And do you know why she. would have been on foot. Because her vehicle is banned, so she. can't drive inside the apartment complex. because her vehicle is banned from the. previous incident that she did. So she already knows she can't drive in. cuz we can't provide her with no pass or. allow her to go inside at all with that.

vehicle. And do you know whether or not she's. done that on other occasions? Yes, she. have. Meaning she would park her vehicle. outside and walk in. >> walk in, correct. And then she would leave the same way? Yes, sometimes. Or she probably be If I see her in the. mornings to walk in in the morning, I. would get off at 3:00, so I don't see. her by the time I leave. She probably. leave later on that day or something. like that.

So I'm not aware. While you were in your post or in your. post yesterday, did you happen to hear. any shots fired, any shooting? >> No, that's the strange thing. I I I hear. anything. Did any one of the residents actually. come up to you at any point in time and. stated that they heard or seen anything? >> No, because they were saying they when. they seen everything going on, they. didn't hear any gunshots as well. They. said they didn't hear anything.

Oh, yeah. Normally, like if they do hear anything, they'll call the guard gate and like, is. everything okay? Cuz I heard this or I. heard that. And it wasn't nothing was said. So, Miami Dade authorities, they put out. an arrest warrant for Washington. And. police caught up with her a few weeks. later in Port Orange. So, you're talking. nearly 4 hours north of Miami. This car here for me, ma'am? Right here.

>> [laughter]. >> Why you laughing? Cuz I know you got You. got one, too? I only helped her when I ran into that. guy. Did he give you that look? Move, man. Come on, bro. Yo, you can't Yo, you. can't be eating pulled pork all day, man. >> I know, bro. >> [laughter]. >> If I do anything else I told them Y'all.

got to try Bojangles before y'all leave. Yeah. It's good, yeah. Please. All. right. All right. Have a seat back here for me, all right? You calling him? I'm actually. calling you.

Real quick, ma'am, what's your first. name? You were Y'all came here for a warrant, right? Yeah, well, I'm just helping out. cuz I I'm not part of all this, all. right? As you can see. Well, can you. just give it to me? Make it easy. >> Lakoria Washington. Can you spell that. for me? >> L O R I A last name Washington. What's your middle name Ms. Washington? Shamiece With a C or an H? Excuse me, S. All right. And your birthday? Your birthday for me? 9 13 1996.

All right, you said the first name was L. A K O R I A? Okay. She's less than friendly. She really doesn't have much to hide. something or much to hide. Where she got. to hide something but. Also Ms. Washington, just going to make. sure you don't have any hidden in your. bra or underwear. >> on. We still got to make sure people can. hide stuff everywhere. All right, I'll have you stick out your. hands for me.

Nothing sharp, right? So officers in. Port Orange, they know that there's a. warrant out for her arrest, but they. don't have all the details. So. Washington kind of feigns ignorance. Take a look. So I don't know. I don't even know why I'm in here cuz I. don't even know why I'm in here cuz. I mean technically you don't really have. to know why legally, but I can tell you. it's because you have a warrant. You got a warrant for charges of. first-degree murder, burglary with. I don't know, they're kind of mixed up. here. Looks like burglary with armed. and it looks like a felon in possession.

of a weapon if I'm reading this right. They use a bunch of abbreviations, but. that's your charges. You got no bond. And it's from Miami K, excuse me, Miami-Dade. So how could they just accuse me of. something? Where's the statement? Where. is the evidence? Where is. What do they have? Well, that's. something to handle in court, not right. now. Right now all that matters is you. have a warrant for your arrest and. you're under arrest. Now in the end, Washington was booked into the jail in.

Volusia County. This is before being. transferred back to the southern part of. the state. All right, Ms. Washington, and out for me, please. We're just going. to walk inside over here for a little. bit. The least y'all could have did is gave. me some clothes. Well, I wasn't there for that decision. I don't have any control over it. One fish, into the. No, they're just holding cells.

Step out for a little bit for me, please. Thank you. All right. Have a seat on the bench for a moment. So, in Miami-Dade County, Washington. faced five charges: first-degree murder, armed burglary with assault or battery, aggravated stalking with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted. felon, possession of a weapon ammunition. by convicted felon. Now, prosecutors. agreed to downgrade this. So, the.

first-degree murder charge was moved. down to second-degree. They agreed to. drop the other charges if Washington. entered a guilty plea. And look, Washington in the end, she changed her. plea. She was sentenced on July 5th, 2025 to 12 years in prison followed by. 10 years of probation. She's currently. serving her sentence at Gadsden. Correctional Facility. This is a women's. prison in Quincy, Florida. Now, during. all of this, putting the criminal case. to the side, there was a wrongful death. lawsuit. Okay, 23-year-old Jason. Campbell was the son of Daphne Campbell,

who had previously served as a state. senator in the Florida legislature for 8. years. The day after Jason was killed, she posted an update to her Facebook. page saying in part, quote, "Carry a. child for 9 months with difficulties and. end up having a C-section. And after 23. years, you receive bad news. Someone. shoots and kills your son.". And she said she lost her son to gun. violence while he was sleeping, writing, "The killer do not have no heart and. killed my son, my handsome son, and left.

three kids fatherless. So, Campbell filed a wrongful death. lawsuit on behalf of Jason's estate. And. she named three companies here: Monte. Carlo of Miami Condominium Association, AKAM On-Site Inc., which was hired as a. property management firm for the. complex, and EMS Protective Group, which. had been hired to provide security. This. is based on a recommendation from AKAM. Now, there were hundreds of court. documents that were submitted since the. case was filed in January of 2022, but.

the plaintiff's statement of the case. kind of lays out the arguments here. Quote, "Specifically, on February 21st, 2021, Laquoria Washington was allowed to. drive onto the premises through the. front gate by Kent Security, EMS's. predecessor, which is not a party to. this lawsuit, in violation of the. property's protocols requiring tenant. approval for non-resident entry. Laquoria Washington claimed to be. visiting Shontia Mayers, as tenant. However, Ms. Mayers did not grant access. to Laquoria Washington. When Ms. Mayers. refused to open her door, Laquoria.

Washington walked to the parking lot, where she fired multiple shots into the. vehicles of Ms. Mayers and Ms. Mayers'. male guest. That February 2021 male. guest was not Jason Campbell. Approximately 3 months later, on June. 1st, 2021, at around 8:00 a.m., Laquoria. Washington, while banned from the. property, returned to the premises on. foot and walked through the vehicle. access gate. Ms. Washington again made. her way to Ms. Mayers' door and knocked. Ms. Mayers opened the door without. looking into the peephole, believing it. to be property management or pest.

control. Laquoria Washington rushed into. the apartment's bedroom with a handgun. and shot Jason Campbell in the chest. Jason later died from that gunshot. wound. So, the lawsuit accused each of the. three companies of negligence. Quote, "Defendants Monte Carlo, AKAM, and EMS. were aware of the February 22nd, 2021. incident and failed to take reasonable. measures to prevent Washington and. uninvited persons with criminal intent, like Washington from gaining access and. committing crimes on the property.

So, you go to this trial. Now, this trial lasted a week. And. according to an article on the verdict. from law.com, it only took about maybe 2. hours for the jury to come back and. award a massive sum to these plaintiffs. The verdict form asked the jurors, quote, "Was there negligence on the part. of the following defendants that was a. legal cause of Jason Campbell's injuries. and death?" And there was a checkmark by. the word yes for all three defendants. The jury determined that the property. management company, so AKAM, was 57% at.

fault, with the owners of the condo. complex and security group each being. 18% at fault. Shanti Amears, the tenant, being 7% at fault, although to be clear, she was not named as a defendant in that. lawsuit. But Daphne Campbell was awarded. $25 million for her pain and suffering, as was Jason's father, Hubert Campbell. Jason's three children, who were just 6, 3, and 1 years old when he died, according to court paperwork, they're. going to split the remaining $50. million. Now, in a statement to the.

Miami Herald, Daphne and Hubert Campbell. said, quote, "Losing our beloved son, Jason, has. caused us unspeakable pain that we would. not wish on anyone. This verdict will never bring our son. back, but we hope it sends a strong. message to all property managers and. owners and compels them to provide. adequate security before another family. suffers like ours has." All right, so. now I want to bring in the Morgan &. Morgan attorneys that were behind this. lawsuit, spearheaded it. A lot of. questions here. I am joined on set by. Thomas Hasty and Grant Gillonwater. Gentlemen, thank you so much for taking.

the time. Really appreciate it. I got. the last names right, right? Cuz Okay, good. That's the number one thing. All. right. So, first of all, explain to me. how you both got involved in this. So, the case originally came to me back in. 2021, October of 2021, as an intake. through our department. Someone called. our firm, the family called our firm and. said, "Hey, we want to sign up with you. We had another lawyer, but we don't feel. comfortable with what's going on. So, they called us for a second opinion. We. said, "We'd love to look into this for. you." And uh and hired us.

And then, so I litigated the case. basically from 2021 to 2024. when I called Grant and I said, "Hey. Grant, I've got this case coming to. trial and I need one of the best lawyers. in the country." So, I called Grant. Gilmore. >> interrupt you there. I need one of the. best lawyers in the country. Do you know. anybody? Grant, do you know anybody? >> [laughter]. >> Anybody you can refer me to? Well, you. know, look, we um. we take trials very seriously at Morgan. & Morgan. Obviously, we are a we are not. a law firm, we are a trial firm. Um and. one of the great things that John uh did.

years ago, um really with it started with Keith. Mitnik. He said, "We're going to bring. in the best lawyers that we can find. and all they're going to do is try. cases." So, right now, there are five of. us. um throughout the country that that's. all we do is we try cases. Keith, Rick, Chris, Brian McLain, myself. All we do. is travel the nation trying our our. biggest cases. And And so, the the. perfect um storm that we have is folks. like Tom that will litigate the case.

from inception up until a couple months. before trial. They call us up in, they. start collaborating with us. Yeah. And. now, we're off to the races. Let me ask. you this. Sometimes you have a case, right? And you could say, I don't know, a roller coaster falls apart or there's. a slip and fall and you say, "I can. automatically see something was done. here. Something was wrong. This. shouldn't have happened. This is. probably a negligence suit, maybe. wrongful death." At first glance when. you hear about this, it's a horrible, horrible crime. Did you at first Did it. stand out to you that someone might be. responsible? That there was a lapse in.

security? That this shouldn't have. happened at this condo? Uh yes. So, the information that we had. when we were first hired is that Jason. had been killed at this apartment when. he was busy another woman. And so, that. kind of stuck out to me as a weird fact. pattern. You know, how did somebody get. to the apartment when Jason was there? If he was visiting someone, how did. another person get there to start or or. engage in this argument, which I assume. there was an argument? Because of. course, when we had the intake. right now we have the hindsight the the.

the benefit of hindsight after 4 years. of litigation. But at the outset, all I. knew was that he had been killed in the. apartment with this woman that he had. been been visiting. So, I thought to. myself, you know, this person shouldn't have. gotten to the door. We don't know how. We didn't really know if she'd been. invited or what. And so, yes, it stood. out to us as a fact pattern which, you. know, we should look into the security. of this property. And real quick from a. legal point of view, someone can still.

be held liable not for something that. happens to the property owner, like the. owner of a condo or a tenant, even their. visitors. They may have a claim, so the. In other words, the owner, the. management company, the security. company, they can still owe a duty to. someone visiting that property. Correct. >> Okay. Absolutely. Yeah. Now, what Grant. during the course of this case, discovery trial, if you can explain to our audience, what. did you learn about the lapses in the. management's responsibility, the you.

know, property owner, the security. company? What did you learn? So, what we. found out. and what we we got through discovery. is we see that. no one knew what was going on. Every entity who was involved in that. property was all kept in the dark. seemingly by each other. So, you've got. the property management company whose. job it is to to perform the day-to-day. operations. Their job is to make sure. that they're communicating what's going.

on in that property to the board. Then. you've got the board, the condo owners. themselves, the board of the condo. owners, whose job it is to make. decisions, to cut the budget, to say, "All right, look, we need better. security. Let's find the money. Let's. put it over here. But if the property. management isn't telling the board, the. board doesn't know what to do. And then. bring in your third defendant, you've. got the security company. Now, in this. case, the security company had recently. been hired by the property manager. Property manager didn't tell security.

company about all the problems they had. had going on months before. So, security. company is in the dark. They don't know. what full extent they need to come in. and what services they provide. So, you've got all these three defendants. who who don't know what the other one's. doing. But at the end of the day, and we. talked about apportionment earlier, and. I know you're going to get into it. >> That's where it all boils down to really. the property manager, because they were. the they were the ones. keeping everyone else in the dark. >> And I want to get to the specific trial,

like what it was like. But talking about. the jury's decision here, and they broke. it down in terms of responsibility. Based on what Grant said, I mean, can. you explain how you think the jury came. uh you know, like 18% 18%? Like, how did. they come up with who was responsible. for what you think? So, uh. the the evidence was exactly what Grant. said. The evidence was that the property. management company was getting. information from security, from tenants, from guests, and then also from the. condo association about crime on the. property. And they weren't relaying it.

to condo owners who could make decisions. or security who could also make their. own decisions. So, that failure in. communicating the information, they had. the football. They're supposed to pass. that football to decision maker. Uh that failure to pass the information, we felt made the management company most. liable for this. Because if security is. doing their job and writing up incident. reports for things that happened, and. passing that to the office, what's the. next thing that should happen? The. office should send it to the board.

Should tell the board, "Hey, we had a. shooting. We had a robbery. We had a. break into a vehicle. What do you want to do? We recommend you. increase security. We recommend you. change protocols at the gate." Which is. ultimately what led to Jason's death. Um there was a a protocol for checking. vehicles at the gate. Uh if you rolled. up to the gate, you'd have to put down. your window, give an ID, say I'm going. to see tenant Jesse. They'd call Jesse, and if you said, "Yeah, Tom can come up." They'd be.

allowed through. >> Mhm. But if Jesse said, "No, they can't. come through." The car would be directed. to make a U-turn and leave. If they. didn't leave, they'd call the police. Yeah. So, that maintains controlled. access to the property. So, if they're. doing their job and security's doing. their job and taking incident reports, giving it to the management office, management office should be. communicating that information to the. board. Um and so we'll get into it, but there. was a prior incident in February 2021. >> Yep. where this same shooter came on the. property, got through the gate in.

violation of their protocol, and ended up showing up to the door of. the tenant with a gun, banging on the. door saying, "Let me in. Let me in. I. know you got a guy in there." It was a. different person, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Before we again go to the trial, I just. want to ask you a follow-up on that. Why. was Mears a part of this, right? Why was. the tenant a part of this? She wasn't a. defendant, per se, right? But the jury. in the end believed that she was. somewhat responsible, too? In Florida, you can argue that a person. who's a non-party bears some. responsibility for a negligent incident. >> Okay. And so, they felt uh well, the.

defendants argued that Ms. Mears, when. she woke up in the morning of June 1st. at 8:00 a.m. to a knock on her door, thinking it was property management, and. opened the door and allowed the shooter. in. Uh was bum-rushed at the door. Uh the jury felt that she was partially. responsible for not checking the eye. glass or the peephole. >> peephole. The peephole at the uh at the. door. Mhm. Okay. And and then you go to. the the jury, right? You go to the you. go to the trial. Um what was it like to.

try the case? And what was the defense? Was it putting the blame like you said? Was it putting it on Mears? Hey, it was. her responsibility. I mean, what was. their defense? What were you arguing? >> So, what you've got um you've got three. defendants that are all pointing the. finger at each other. Imagine, you've. all seen it, that Spider-Man meme with. three Spider-Mans. >> Yeah. They're all pointing at each. other. >> Yeah, yeah. That's what's going on with. the three defendants and then they're. ganging up together to point the finger. at Mears. So, no one's taking any amount. of responsibility. They're all blaming.

each other and then they're getting. together and all blaming Mears. So, the problem is. and what was very difficult about the. prep of this trial is you've got all. this information, a lot of facts, it can. get confusing as heck. Somehow, you've. got to distill it and boil it down to. make it digestible in a way that a jury. is going to be able to say, "Oh, I see. what A did wrong. I see what B did wrong. and I see what C did wrong." Um and that. was that was hard. But, it starts in.

jury selection with that conversation. about By the way, there's not one. defendant here, there's three of them. And then in opening, which which Tom. gave a beautiful opening. Um and then throughout the trial, we. keep that theme going. We keep the. jury's focus on everyone did something. wrong here. However, there was one. defendant that did the most wrong. And. at the end of the trial, it came out. that way we presented the evidence. >> And I believe it only took them 2 hours. to come back. >> Under 2 hours, an hour and 47 minutes.

They came back a hundred million. dollars. My understanding is what was. the highest What was the offer like a. one million? I mean, can you explain how. what that was and how you think the jury. came to a hundred million? You tell them what it was and I'm going. to tell how I think the jury came to the. hundred million. >> Uh. >> [snorts]. >> so, yes, the the pre-verdict offer was a. million dollars. >> Okay. And uh. So, this was Good tag team in that. >> This was the hardest This was the. hardest part of the trial. Yeah. To.

figure out what the value is because. we're talking about a young man who lost. his life. We're talking about a young. family. We're talking about a mom and. dad who while I told the jury that their. son is still their son. Jason's dad goes to the graveyard every. week and sits with him. How do you put a price on that? And when we started this trial Tom and I. talked about values and numbers. I talked to some of the other members of. the trial team. I I always love talking.

to non attorneys to get their idea. And numbers were all over the map. Some people told me 15 million was. egregious and too much to ask for. Some people said that I should go in and. ask for 150 million. And I didn't know what to do. And quite honestly, I didn't know what I. was going to do until the morning of the. closing. And I was sitting at the JW. Marriott Miami having coffee. And I told. one of the attorneys trying the case. with us Patrick. I said I think I'm just.

going to. talk. I'm going to tell them what I think. And here's what I think. I think as a human being this case is. worth 200 million dollars. Yeah. Because. it is. But I also think you're going to think. I'm crazy for asking that. And my job for the Campos. is to be an advocate someone that can. talk and persuade and convince but also. show the truth and in order to do that. effectively you all cannot think I'm.

crazy. So asking for 200,000 or 200 million. dollars you could think I'm nuts. So as a lawyer I'm telling you this case. is worth 80 million. And here's where the hard part comes. Cuz now I've just done the easy part for. you. The easy part is. 80 million to 200. Somewhere in between there lies justice. And I don't know where it is. But I'll tell you, it's somewhere in. between 80 and 200. And now you go find.

it. Wow. And they came back. um. and they did the right thing. Yeah. They. found They found it. They did exactly. what we asked. Go find justice. And. speaking of justice, what's the status. is there there been any payouts so far? Uh there has not been a payout yet. We've reached a settlement with the. property management company. Okay. Which. is the number is confidential, but we. reached a settlement with them. Uh and we are proceeding against the. condo association. Okay. Um.

do you are you confident that that will. be paid out to the family in the near. future? Which? The settlement. Oh, yes. Yes. Okay, good. >> In fact, Tom just attended a hearing. yesterday in Miami uh to get the minor. settlement approved from the um property. management. So. >> Okay. We anticipate the family should be. seeing their funds. probably within the next 30 days from. the property management. >> Okay. And how's the family doing at this. point? How have they been going I mean, obviously, what they went through is. unimaginable. It's heartbreaking. You.

You explained it very well. But, you. know, going through the legal process is. another part. And now this is another. part. Um how are they doing at this. point? They're doing well. Um. the Campbells were actually in our. office on Friday. The mom and dad uh. cooked up an amazing Jamaican lunch for. us and brought food for for lawyers and. and our teams. So, we got to have lunch. with them and and it was great to see. them. Um. Hubert still goes to his son's grave. every week. The holidays, even 5 years 4.

years later, were very tough for them. Uh he was in our office a month ago. crying about loss of his son. And. Daphne's the same way. Um and so they are still broken, but um. they're. happy that there is a partial. conclusion. They are forever happy about. the verdict that. uh the jury provided them, the justice. the jury provided them. And then uh uh. obviously been in a lot of contact with. the mothers as well. Yeah. And the kids.

are doing good. >> I was going to ask you that. And they're. they're getting older every day, obviously. But the kids are doing good, and moms are taking good care of them. It's great. And Grant, I mean, you think. about this. What is the message a case. like this sends after trying it, after. getting this conclusion? We never want our verdicts to be. messages. Because they're so personal. Right. They're so personal to the family. But at the same time, it should be a cautionary tale of. warning.

That. when you, as a defendant, when you, as. an insurance company, have the opportunity to do the right. thing, and you are given that opportunity for. years, uh once, not twice, but dozens of times, and you think. that just because you have all the cards. in your favor, because you are big, because you are. powerful, because you think that no one.

can come and get you, at the end of the day, truth always finds a way. And what that means is that when truth. comes to light, justice comes forward. And that's what trials are about, and. that's what the jury system is about. It's not perfect, but it is the greatest. system of justice that this world has. ever known. And so, the word of warning, the message. to send to those big insurance. companies, those mega corps, do what's right the first time. Because.

if you don't, there are attorneys, there are firms, there are families who will hold you to. task, and who will bring truth and. justice out. I I don't know a better way to end it. Uh Grant, thank you so much. Tom, thank. you so much. Excellent. Thank you so. much for coming on to explain a little. bit more of the work that Morgan &. Morgan did in this very specific case. And I'll just say our hearts and our. prayers are with that family as they go. through this next chapter. And really. appreciate you both coming on to explain. it. >> Thank you so much. >> Thanks for having us.

And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. [music] Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcast. You can follow. me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next [music] time.