Innocent Florida Dad Executed in Cold Blood

call was coming at Portland Street. window. >> An apparent Instagram beef in Florida. led to real world consequences when a. gunman allegedly opened fire on a popup. marijuana event. >> right here. He was hit right here. Here's her insurance right here. >> We have dug [music] through the body. camera footage, police reports, interrogations, and more to try to see. how [music] police were able to track. down their main suspect. >> Raone. >> What's up, brother? >> Sit up for I'm going to take some of. these tops off.

>> and we are going to be [music] sitting. down with our sponsor Morgan and Morgan, the powerhouse law firm that was able to. secure [music] more than $10 million for. the victim's family. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm [music]. 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 and Morgan. This is. America's largest personal injury law. firm. This is a firm with over a. thousand attorneys who've recovered 25. billion dollars 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 insurers's offer. And Morgan and. 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. The family of a Florida man who was.

gunned down at a business park where a. popup marijuana event was going on was. recently awarded $11 million. And that. is all thanks to a civil lawsuit that. was filed on their behalf by our. sponsors here at Sidebar. We talk about. them all the time, Morgan and Morgan. Now we are showing you how they operate. in action. This is a real life example. So, as the man who is accused in this. absolutely senseless shooting awaits his. criminal trial, we're going to be taking. an in-depth look at the evidence, how. this apparent case of wrong place, wrong.

time unfolded. And a little bit later. on, we're bringing on Morgan and. Morgan's attorney, Verun Ramnarine, to. analyze the civil side of this story, the 11 million. Now, according to police. and prosecutors in Orange County, Florida, we're talking about Raone Luis. Aoyo Galva took a dispute from the. online space to the real world, opening. fire outside an office park and. allegedly hitting an innocent bystander. during his barrage of bullets. And after. the shooting happened at around 900 p.m. on November 17th, 2021, you had Orange.

County officials release surveillance. video and it was showing a man dressed. in long black pants, black shoes, a. hooded sweatshirt, gloves. You have a. hail of bullets hitting the building and. then the man takes off and investigators. believe they say that man is a Royal. Galva and it would be more than a year. before he was arrested. But it's when. you take a closer look at the evidence. in this case that you can see how police. determined in their view he was their.

man. Now, before we dive into the. details of what happened on Courtland. Street in Orlando that night, I got to. introduce you to just some of the main. characters, the players in the story to. make sense of it. At the time of the. shooting in 2021, then 21-year-old Roy. Galva was out on bail in Orange County. because he was awaiting trial on drug. charges. But prior to that, he had been. arrested in 2018 for pushing his way. into his ex-girlfriend's house and. punching her dad multiple times in the. face because he wanted a necklace back. By the way, two other important people. in this case that we need to talk about.

They're identified only as witness 2 and. witness three in court documents. According to detailed police records and. affidavit and arrest warrants, Royal. Galva wanted or seemingly wanted to be. in a sexual relationship with witness 3. She told police the two had communicated. on Instagram, but when they were hanging. out once and he tried to kiss her, she. blocked him. And here's the main crux of. the dispute. She claims a royal galva. called her boyfriend, witness 2, to try. to cause problems. And just days before.

the shooting, an Instagram account. reportedly connected to a royal galva. with the handle pot of gold coed. And that story read, quote, "How I sleep. at night knowing I'm the reason why a. couple is getting into a fight and. arguing." The next day, investigators. claim that a Royal Galva and Witness 2, they cross paths at this cannabis pop-up. party on the south side of Orlando. And. these kinds of events, while purporting. to be for those, you know, with medical. marijuana cards, they kind of operate on. the edge of legality. In fact, later.

court paperwork that was filed on the. civil side would describe the parties as. a way to quote engage in the unregulated. sale of marijuana and psilocybin. mushrooms. So, with all that in mind, a. royal galvan witness to they allegedly. got into a fight at that southside event. before separating. And then just one day. after that, November 17th, there was. another pop-up cannabis event on the. north side of Orlando. And that brings. us to the man who's really at the center. of this whole story. The person that we. should really be talking about, the.

victim, Vin Chung. He was a 43-year-old. beloved father who just happened to be. attending the same pop-up event as. witness 2 at the Courtland Avenue office. park. Police say he was standing on the. other side of a glass window, which had. its curtains drawn, when a royal galva. allegedly started firing. indiscriminately. Witness two. So the. likely intended target here if we. believe these accusations took off was. uninjured according to deputies but it. was Vin Chong who suffered and it was. his family who suffered. When armed.

police descended on this scene it kind. of took them a minute to figure out. where exactly in this large complex the. shooting had happened. But then it. quickly became clear. >> street. So deputies they climb through the. broken glass door to the unit and they. find Vin Chung bleeding on the ground. A. woman in workout gear was trying to help. him. >> Right here. right here. >> Fire department's right here.

>> I was feeling compression. I don't know. what else to do, but I feel like he's. not breathing. >> I wanted to start compressions. Do you. feel the pulse? He's. >> here. We got it. We got it. We got it. >> You sure? I'll do compressions. >> Yeah, >> I'll help. >> Sit inside here. >> Party in here. I don't even know what. was going on. I'm just working out. >> Now, this is important when we talk. about the lawsuit later on. It turns out. that at least two of the building's. first floor units were connected with a. gym on the other side. And deputies,

they had searched this maze of hallways. to make sure, you know, that the gunman. wasn't still on site somewhere. And this. was all as paramedics rushed Chung to. the hospital. And sadly, he didn't. survive. A medical examiner later. concluded after an autopsy that Chun. died from a gunshot wound to the chest. According to the police reports, deputies found 18 40 caliber cartridge. casings outside of the building, all. believed to have been fired from the. same gun. And inside, they discovered. around 14 pounds of cannabis and several.

edible cannabis items. The deputies. quickly ruled out armed robbery because. Chong still had close to $2,000 in cash. on him. It wouldn't make sense. And. according to an affidavit that was filed. in support of an arrest warrant, it. says, quote, "Based on the crime scene. observations, it did not appear that the. suspect knew who he was shooting at and. shot indiscriminately through the. window, inadvertently striking Vin. Chong. It was clear that Vin Chong. attended the cannabis pop-up parties, but no evidence of anyone wanting to. murder Vin Chong was located. Additionally, no evidence of any recent.

feud was located within the phone of Vin. Chung. So, while technicians processed. the crime scene, you had deputies who. were interviewing witnesses, and that. included the woman who was exercising at. that gym next door when all this gunfire. broke out. >> I'm working out. Okay. The door was shut. between us and them. I don't know what's. going on over there. Okay. >> And so, I'm working out and all of a. sudden, I hear shots ring out. And we. normally keep tape on our door so that. she can come in and out of the door cuz.

the gym's open all day. So when I heard. it, I. >> We're going to we're going to walk over. here. >> Yeah. Yeah. So when I heard it, the first my first instinct was to flick. the lights off and we had windows open. >> Okay. So my whole thing was I don't know. where this shooter is. So I shut the. lights off. I ripped the tape. I shut it. and I run and I lock the door in between. them and us. And I literally went around. and shut all my windows first before I. called anybody. And with a big knife,

that's the only weapon [snorts] I have. And I found it. >> And then finally. I said to Rick, I said, "I've got to go. over there and see what happened." I. said, "We have to." And he was like, "Wait, wait, wait. Don't go yet. Don't. go yet." And I was like, "I we just got. to see." And all these people, chaos, scrambling. They're like, "Where's my. stuff?" And they're all like running to. leave. And I'm like, "Is anyone hit? Is. anyone hit?" Yeah. >> And I saw the guy, ran and got my gloves.

to see if I could find out where find. where the wound was and see if I could. put compression on him. And then I ran. and called you guys. >> That's You did all of the right things. And I know you're really upset right. now. You've been through a lot. Okay. And I know we're asking a lot of. questions right now. And last year, >> I know you need to piece it together. >> The Orange County Sheriff's Office says. that in the days after the killing, they. got a tip that a royal galva had been in. a fight at the first pop-up event with. another Hispanic male, the one that I. mentioned before. That's witness two. So, he agrees to come in with his lawyer.

to speak with detectives. >> Just going to be honest with you. We. don't think um. uh we don't suspect you anything. Uh. we're really just looking at as a. witness potentially and u just wanted. some information that you knew um or. might know about uh the homicide of. Vinu. All right. And for the record, did. you know Vin? >> Uh no, I don't know him. I haven't seen. him all over social media. >> You have been all over. Like that guy is. all over the media right now. like a. famous person. >> because of the homicide or. >> uh don't really know too much. Like I.

said to my lawyer and I'll say it to you. guys. >> Um I was at an after spot just chilling. and vibing. Um some kid had beef with me. on social media. >> Me and the kid got into a physical. altercation. After that they they shot. they tried to shoot up the place. >> The second time I went back to the after. just to pay my respect. You know what. I'm saying? Cuz we got into a fight. I. was trying to tell the owner like, "Yo, my bad for fighting your spot." He was. like, "Yo, it's all good." Went inside. had to chill for like I want to say 10. minutes. 10 minutes gunshot start going. off. Bang bang bang bang. Everybody ran.

Once everybody ran, I left. The only. reason why I didn't get contact with. y'all is because I ain't trying to get. into no with nobody shooting at me. >> I got you. >> You know what I'm saying? >> Now, witness 2 apparently told. detectives that he was taking heat from. people online who thought that he set. off the chain reaction that led to. Chun's murder. In his interview, he. referred to Chung by the nickname Asian. Take a listen. >> Who's this? It's an Instagram post that I. >> That's the That's the dude. That's the. the dude I was talking about. No, this. is this is me posting this and this is a.

screenshot from me to the person. >> So, did you write that? >> I wrote this screenshot. Yeah. >> Okay. What is that? Uh what is that. talking about where it says I wish it. was me on the bottom instead of Asian? >> No, because the Asian was dead. So, I. knew that they were they they had beef. with me. So I felt bad that, you know, everybody's blaming everybody blame me. in the whole. >> Did you know Vin as Asian? >> I knew him as Asian cuz, you know, he's. he's an Asian gentleman. So we used to. be like, "Yo, that's the Asian from,". you know what I'm saying? I used to see. him in the casinos. I see him all over.

the place. Big supposedly he's big time. So I used to, you know, I felt bad. because everybody's blaming me. They're. like, "Oh, it's your fault. It's your. fault. You got to fight with the kid. If. you didn't get into a fight with the. kid, this be dead." So I'm like, "Damn, you know, I feel bad." catch you that I. I feel bad because I ain't I ain't want. that to happen to him. You know what I'm. saying? I just literally wanted to know. why. If the kid would have just said, "Yo, this is why I wanted to fight you.". Like, if it was, "Oh, you slept with my. girl or you was texting my lady." I'd be. like, "Yo, fam, if that's what it is, my. bad.".

>> Did you sleep with his girlfriend? >> No, I don't know him. I don't know who. his girlfriend would be. I don't know. him like from Adam and Eve. You get what. I'm saying? And it's just everybody's. trying to slay me. So, I sent that to. the promoter and he was like, "Yo, like. I'm going to try to help you cuz I know. everybody's killing you. Everybody's. like literally they were like, "Yo, you're a bad guy. You're the bad you the. you the problem. You coming off and. chilling with this dude." I'm like, "Yo, bro, like I didn't I didn't kill nobody. I didn't put no guns on nobody.". >> Do you feel like this was retaliation. for the fight? >> Respectfully. Yeah. >> Respectfully. Yeah. Is because.

>> you got your when you pull out your gun. I see it as a typical Florida move. I'm. not from Florida. Typical Florida move. Me and you get into a physical. altercation, you get beat up. Now you. picking up a gun. Cuz it was literally. the same motion before. Boom. After we. done fought it out, he went right to the. car. I'm thinking he's gonna leave. I. think the fight's over. You know what. I'm saying? No, they're like, "Yo, he's. shooting, shooting, shooting." I got to. my car and I slid. >> And detectives also caught up with. witness three. So this is witness 2's. one time girlfriend, right? To see what. she had to say about all this. >> Do you know anything about the homicide?

About the fight between and Ramon? >> I mean, I've heard some things about it. Okay. >> But I was not there to witness. What did. you hear? >> I just heard that Ramon was trying to. fight me. >> because I honestly blocked Raone's. number and I was not trying to talk to. him. >> and I think he got in his feelings and. that's why he tried to. >> Okay, >> but that's pretty much the gist of what. I heard. And then I heard that he he was.

the one who approached and started. fighting him. >> Okay. >> Because I honestly got mad and I was. like, "Oh my gosh, why are you. fighting?". >> Right. Yeah. Yeah. >> But um it wasn't apparently his remote. that had initiated it with him. >> Where you. >> he came to look for. >> He came Okay. And where did. >> where did you hear that from? >> Um honestly just from like someone that. I know. >> Was it or was it somebody else? >> No, there was a third person. >> Would you be comfortable giving me their.

name? >> Honestly, no. This is the older person. I don't want to get involved. >> That's okay. Yeah, that's not for me. So. >> Okay. Then you go to January 5th, 2022. So this is more than a month after the. shooting. And Royal Galva was in the. passenger seat of a car that was pulled. over for a tent violation. He was. reportedly found with cannabis and drug. paraphernia. This is according to court. paperwork. Deputies, they take. possession of his phone and then they. bring him in for an interview with. detectives. >> Raone. >> What's up, bro? Stand up for me. I'm. going to take some of these cuffs off. I. guess you had a dime bag on you or.

something today. Yeah, I had like a. little we I kind of find it weird cuz. like I got caught with like a little. more than that in one time, but they. didn't take me here though. >> Okay, gotcha. Um, you didn't come up. here on your own, right? >> What do you mean? >> You didn't just come in here on your. own. You didn't drive your car up here. Come in here with me. >> He I was in my friend's car and uh he I. guess we got pulled over because of his. tint and then. >> I guess he uh. >> You were put in handcuffs. >> Yeah, he driven up here. said that I. didn't have the marijuana in the medical.

container. >> Yeah. What I'm getting at is you didn't. I have to read your rights in order for. me to talk to you, right? For me to ask. you questions is I'm not asking. questions about the weed. I could care. less about the weed. All right? So, what. I want you to do is listen to me and if. you have any questions, let me know. All. right. Listen, man. I I don't I'm not. here about the weed. I'm here about. something uh a little bit bigger. I was. I was told you got into a fight with. somebody about a month ago. >> You got at a at a at a a vape shop. You got into a fight with a guy over a. girl over some some Instagram?

>> Uh, no. >> You remember? >> No, I don't really recall. >> But you don't recall? You don't recall. getting into a fight? >> Yeah, I do. But like I don't see how. that has to do with my my marijuana. >> Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm talking. about. You got into a fight with this. guy. >> over Instagram posts. >> Uh, you got into a fight? >> I didn't get into a fight. I actually. got jumped and that's what I talk. You. got jumped. Did he rob you? >> No. So what do you mean you got jumped? >> No, like I was at a like a it was like a. vape shop. Yeah, you can say. And I was.

uh. >> a popup. A weed popup. >> Yeah, I was buying weed there. And then. >> all of a sudden I was I just got jumped. >> out of nowhere. >> Yeah. And then uh but yeah, I I did like. his girl, you know, me and his girl like. are pretty cool and stuff. >> And he didn't like that. >> Yeah. I don't know if it was actually. him, but like that's all I could like. cuz that's the only person that I would. do. Do you know him from Facebook or. Instagram? >> I actually don't know him. >> Okay. But do you know of his like of his. like Instagram handle? You know how. people go by Instagram?

>> No, I don't know him like that. I don't. know. I just know him cuz his girl used. to talk to me about when I seen a. picture. >> His girl. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Honestly, I don't know if he's the one. that jumped me, but it was like multiple. people. Like it was like 10 people. So, >> okay. So, >> but you had a thing going with his girl. >> kind of like we. >> Do you remember her name. >> or what she went by? >> I think. I don't know. But um.

>> yeah, basically we weren't really cool. like that. Like basically I just one. time and uh. >> I went to one of these like popups as. you said and then I was trying to. >> like you know purchase some. >> and then uh she I just got jumped like I. got hit. >> and then like I was just I just covered. up and then I like like my boys came to. get me and then we just left. >> Okay. And do you remember what day that. was? >> But it was security. There was security. there. So. >> yeah, I know. I got the video.

>> I couldn't really see [clears throat]. like you feel Do you remember what day. that was? >> No. >> Okay. Well, it was November 16th, 2021. It was a Tuesday. >> Okay. >> Do you know Do you know where it. happened? >> Not exactly. >> Do you know what part of town? >> No, I was in my my boy's loop. So, I. >> It was It was And. >> Okay. At the vape shop over there. I. know that cuz I got video. I got all. kinds of stuff. >> So, the detective asks him asks a Royal. Galva about this pot of gold Instagram. account that I mentioned before. and a.

Royal Galva swears up and down that it. isn't his. The thing is investigators. they are able to connect it to an email. address which is apparently in his name. >> So here's the thing man the the next the. very next day. >> Mhm. right at uh we had a homicide and. we have all kinds of video high. definition high definition video tag. readers we got it all. And so I am. curious if I can tell you that on 11:17.

at 900 p.m. that you weren't home and. that you were in fact at 850 Courtland. Street where the homicide occurred at. the weed popup party. >> That's what you're saying. >> Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm asking. you how can we explain that? I mean, it's not like I haven't done my. research. I kind of I've kind of I've. kind of knew like I don't know any any. particles like. >> Okay. Well, it's just con and it's. what's convenient is just right after. this you got rid of your phone, got a. new number, got a new handset, you sold. the car, moved to Georgia. >> No, that was I was planning to do that.

anyways. Oh, >> you're planning to do that anyways. >> Yeah, I wasn't my life wasn't really. going I planned over here. I was going. to UTI and stuff. >> What's UTI? >> Uh Universal Technical Institute and I. ended up getting um terminated cuz my. attendance and stuff. So, I didn't I I. was I couldn't really find a job over. here. my mom. >> So then would you agree that if I have. somebody on camera that looks a hell of. a lot like you, very good highde video. shooting into this building and I can. prove that you were there and not at.

home, then would I should I just arrest. you for the murder? >> You there's probably not a video like. that though. >> Oh, would you like to see it? >> I wasn't there. >> Would you like to see the video? >> I mean, not really cuz I know it's not. me. Okay. But but what I'm saying is if I. can prove that you weren't home at 9:00. on November 17th like you just told me. >> Mhm. >> Then would you agree that then I could. say that you're in fact lying to me and. you probably did do the murder and that. would that be enough to convince you. that you did this? >> I mean there is I highly doubt there's.

any video of me. >> No. No. I can show you all the video of. you guys running back to the car. There. was two people. You and the chubbier guy. that ran through the vacant field in the. black car. You guys went down, made a. U-turn, parked in front of the bacon. fields, used the cut, went in there, he. stayed back, and then you joined him. Like I Do you think I just made this up? >> No, I I wouldn't say you made this up. Maybe it like. >> So, would you like to sit down and. review this video? Maybe you can. identify yourself off that video. >> No, I don't. >> You don't want to do that? >> I mean, you can show me the videos. Like, I don't have a problem with that, but like I don't know. I can't help you.

any more than I already have. >> Do you have a firearm? >> I don't own any firearm. >> Have you ever bought a firearm? >> No, I can't buy firearms. >> You've never had a Glock 9 mm? No, I. actually tried to buy one and they said. I I couldn't cuz I had a withhold and. then I got arrested for some weed and I. ended up getting my weed card. >> So, is it possible that you were just at. that weed pop-up party on the 17th when. this incident happened and you were just. a witness? >> No, I don't even go. >> Is that possible? >> No, I don't I don't go to like I don't. really don't go to those like that, but. I went to that one. I I went to that.

popup, but I really don't go like often. like to those. >> Right. You know, a lot of times I talk. to people like this and and the and the. main thing is they're like, "Man, I just. stay at the house." I never I never. spoke to so many people stay at the. house. >> I mean, I didn't say I stay at the. house. You kept you kept trying to tell. me that I stay at the house, which which. is I understand. You're trying to like. like. >> What I want What I'm trying to do is I'm. I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, but often times um. >> people telling me one thing. >> and trying to set up what we call an. alibi is extremely detrimental to them.

in the future. So [clears throat]. telling me where you were on a specific. date and then me proving elsewhere and. having all this video and then proving. you were there, that looks really bad. Whereas if you were just honest and. said, "Listen, man. >> Uh, yep. I got I got my ass beat the day. before. I went there, my buddy tried to. scare him and I'm a witness." That's. believable. >> because the guy that caught the round. wasn't this guy. It was a total innocent. person. >> Yeah, I understand. >> Right. And so, so that's what I'm trying. to say is if that did happen and you are.

just a witness, >> that is completely different. >> And despite the detective consistently. countering a Royal Galva's statements. with pieces of information that he's. learned, the suspect continues to insist. he couldn't possibly be involved. In. fact, he says he's never been to. Courtland Street, wouldn't even know. where it is, despite the Pot of Gold. Instagram account seemingly sharing an. Eventbrite invitation link for that. night's pop-up event there. >> You've never been to Courtland? >> No. So that's what I'm that's what I'm. trying to say. If you said you never. happened and I can prove that you were.

there, then would that is that fair. enough to say that. >> you're a murderer? >> N I mean cuz I wasn't there. Like I. don't I wasn't there. Like I. >> like I don't know what else I could tell. you. Like I kind of want to talk to. >> Okay. Do you Okay. You want to talk Do. you swear that you told me the truth. today? >> Yeah, I want to talk to attorney though. cuz like I just find everything kind of. strange and. >> But you swear you told me the truth. Can. you raise your right hand? One. This. You swear you told me the truth today. >> Yeah, I did. I swear I told you the.

truth. >> And you want to talk to an attorney? >> Yes, sir. >> According to the arrest affidavit, deputies, they held on to Aoya Galva's. phone. They got a search warrant for it. And that was the next stage because it. turns out a Royal Galva had changed his. cell phone number. According to the. arrest warrant affidavit after the. murder of Vin Chong, Raone Lewis Aoyo. Galva deleted his email address that he. had since 2015, deactivated his. Instagram account, which appeared to be. extremely profitable for him, and. changed his phone number. So, investigators served a search warrant to. get access to this pot of gold Instagram.

account history, and they uncovered just. a treasure trove of posts and messages. Quote, "A review of Raone Lewis of Royal. Galva's Instagram page revealed several. videos of him showing a Glock 40 caliber. with an extended magazine. The videos of. him showing the Glock 40 caliber firearm. with the extended magazine were posted. on his page days before the murder, specifically on November 1st, 2nd, and. the 12th of 2021, days before the murder. of Vin Chung." And the affidavit also. included messages that were sent on this.

pot of gold account in the days after. Chun was killed. Relevant in one a. person hearing about the shooting asks, "Damn, bro, what happened?" And Pot of. Gold, the deleted account reportedly. belonging to a Royal Galva responded, "I. can't talk about it. When I get back, I'll catch you up." There was another. message that apparently said, "I got to. lay low in Georgia for a bit, fam. My. bad. I'll be back December 1st." There's. also this chilling message seemingly to. indicate that Aoya Galva knew the man he.

was accused of killing. Quote, "I feel. so sorry that happened. He was my. homie." Now, one counterargument can be, "I I just knew who he was. Doesn't mean. I was involved." Anyway, it took a while. for the digital technicians to be able. to get into the phone that they had. confiscated from a Royal Galva after. that traffic stop because it was. password protected. This is according to. the arrest affidavit, but when they did, they discovered a message on Telegram. that read, "Phone number changed. Dear. pot, your phone number was successfully. changed. And it provided both the old. number and the new one. So allegedly,

again, he changed his phone number the. day after the killing. But using that. old phone number, investigators were. able to use GPS to determine that a. Royal Galva was indeed at 850 Courtland. Street at the time of Chung's killing. The affidavit gave this synopsis. Quote, in summary, the search warrant results. for Ramon Royal Galva's Instagram. account revealed that he was in. possession of a 40 caliber Glock. firearm, was involved in a fight the day. before the homicide, and even knew about. the cannabis pop-up party at Courtland. Street on November 17th, 2021. Additionally, before the homicide, Ramon.

Royal Galva wrote that his little were. going to terrorize some bleep. And then. after the homicide, he wrote that he had. to go to Georgia to lay low because he. got himself into trouble. You go to the. summer of 2023. Our Royal Galva was. officially arrested on first-degree. murder. And in a tweet, the Orange. County Sheriff's Office wrote, "Detectives work diligently to identify. the suspect in this case." It's a. reminder that they never stop pursuing. justice for those who are murdered in. Orange County. And right now, Aoya Galva. is still behind bars, awaiting trial.

That's the criminal side. This now. brings us to Morgan and Morgan. This. brings us to the civil side. And this is. so interesting because even before. detectives had publicly announced who. their suspect was in Chung's killing, his adult daughter filed a civil lawsuit. against the owner of the building, AK. Family Holdings LLC in 2022. And then. you had an amended complaint that later. added On the Move Fitness LLC as a. codefendant. Now, it's a little. confusing, but basically AK Family. Holdings owned the building and then.

rented out all the units on the first. floor to On the Move Fitness. also. referred to as OTM in court filings. And. then OTM had rented out 1D for all these. kinds of different events. And that is. where Vin Chung died. So the crux of the. lawsuit was that it was the. responsibility of the building's owners. and management to make sure that it was. safe, that anything going on at the. premises was on the up and up, that. there was security put in place, that. they should know what was happening, that they needed to make sure members of. the public coming on site were safe.

You're talking about negligent security. And in fact, here's how a court filing. lays out each defendant's involvement. Quote, "Decedent was killed on the. premises, a commercial building owned by. defendant AK. The portion of the. premises in which the sedent was injured. was unit 1D. Unit 1D had been leased to. defendant OTM. Decedent was injured on a. portion of the premises owned by AK, which had been leased to OTM. However, while the seedant was injured in unit. 1D, the shooter fired the shot while. standing in a vestibule. The vestibule.

is considered a common area under the. lease. Remember that common area. We're. going to talk about that again. Now, the. principal for AK is referred to in this. filing as Mr. Kata. And the principal. for OTM is referred to as Mr. Pierre. Let's go through this. Quote, "Mr. Pierre permitted events such as birthday. parties, aerobics, dance, salsa, hiphop. classes, and posing classes for. bodybuilding in unit 1D. He received. payment for all these events. Mr. Katada. was never present for these events and. it is unclear if Mr. Kata knew of these.

events. But at the time of the shooting. and the death, unit 1D was being used to. host a pop-up marijuana party. Purpose. of this pop-up party was to engage in. the unregulated sale of marijuana and. psilocybin mushrooms. Defendant OTM. permitted these parties and received. payment for allowing the use of unit 1D. Similar parties had been held three. prior times. The testimony at trial was. that Mr. Pierre never informed Mr. of. these parties because he quote didn't. think it was important. So, after a lot.

of back and forth between everyone's. attorneys and a jury trial, Vin Chong's. estate was awarded $11 million in. January of 2025 with AK Family Holdings. found to be 20% responsible and On the. Move Fitness 80% responsible. However, there was a twist. Months after that. verdict came down, there was an amended. final judgment that was entered saying. that it was actually OTM that was fully. responsible for the $1 million and that. AK Family Holdings, they basically owe.

nothing. Chung's estate has appealed. asking that the original judgment be. reinstated and that is where we find. ourselves right now. All right, so to. help me sort through all of this, and. there is a lot to sort through, I want. to welcome on a special guest, Morgan. and Morgan's attorney, Verun Ramnarin, to the studio. Verun, thank you so much. for taking the time. Appreciate you. coming in. Um, let's start here. How did. Morgan and Morgan get involved in this. case and what was the role that it. played in the lawsuit? >> Right. Thanks, Jesse. So, Morgan Morgan. got involved in this case when the. deedant, Mr. Chung, uh, passed away. He.

had a close family member, a cousin who. was friends with Dan Morgan of our firm. >> Friend of the sidebar. We know him well. Yeah. >> Exactly. So, they were friends. Uh, and. his cousin called Dan. He said, "Hey, this happened to my cousin Vin. He was. killed at an event. Uh, is this. something that your firm could help. with?" And Dan put me in touch with the. family. And I said, "Absolutely, we. could help with it." and that's how we. got involved. >> Did you immediately suspect that these. property owners might be liable for. something? >> Yeah, we did. Um, when we pulled up the. property where the incident occurred, we. found out that it was a commercial uh. office building. Yeah.

>> And when we found out uh what event was. being hosted there, pop-up marijuana. party, you wouldn't typically associate. that with a commercial office property. And so, we started to put two and two. together, and we figured that we had an. owner that was probably absentee and. allowing tenants to do things on the. property that he should not have allowed. them to do. What's their responsibility? Because like what that's a good. question, right? I mean, if you rent a. property out like do you have to. continue to monitor what they do? What's. the responsibility? >> Right. So, in Florida, the law is with. respect to premises liability. A.

premises owner has a responsibility to. maintain their premises in a reasonably. safe condition. They have to correct or. warn about dangerous conditions that. they know about or should know about. through the exercise of reasonable care. And then when you come to this subsect. that is negligent security law, a land. owner has an obligation to their guest. and invitees onto the property to. protect against foreseeable criminal. acts by third parties that they know. about or should know about. So the whole. question becomes foreseeability. >> So talk to us about this trial. You you. were part of the the trial.

>> Absolutely. >> Okay. So why did the jury decide the way. they did? Kind of splitting. responsibility in a way but ultimately. you know siding with siding with you. guys, >> right? So I you know what I think the. jury did is they looked at everything. and what we had Jesse was you had a. property owner uh you had a guy who had. IT experience. He uh purchased a. commercial property saw it as an. investment. Uh he had absolutely no. experience with commercial property. management. He purchased it as an uh. tool for investment income. Uh he took. no steps to avail himself of what the. standards were for a person who owns.

commercial property. He hired a company. to find him tenants. When he purchased. the property he had a large mortgage on. it so he was leveraged. He had to meet. his monthly mortgage obligations. So, he. needed tenants who were paying him rent. He hired a company to find him tenants. Once he had the tenants in place, he was. collecting rent and he turned a blind. eye to security on the property. He. never did an audit of the property. Uh, you know, he never contacted the. company, for instance, that he used to. find tenants. That company offered. commercial property management services. He never availed himself of that. He.

never took any steps whatsoever to walk. the property to contact local law. enforcement to find out what the uh. security requirements would be for a. property like that. >> And then why in the end was it reversed. where you had OTM was fully responsible. for the judgment and not AK family. holdings. >> Yeah. So not to get too much into the. law, but there is some case law that. talks about uh nuances between property. owners and tenants. And so in this case, AK Family Holdings was the property. owner. Under Florida law, they have a.

non-eleigible duty. Uh the other. defendant was the gym on the move. fitness and they were the tenant. And. what happened in our case is the gym, the owner of the gym was subleting the. gym for various purposes. So we found. out that he would sublet the gym for. salsa parties. Uh he even had a. wrestling uh event posted there and then. he would host these marijuana pop-up. parties just to generate more income. Our client was in the uh leased space. where the gym is. The shooting occurred. in a common area that was under the.

exclusive control of the property owner. The bullet penetrated the window leading. into the gym and unfortunately hit our. client. To answer your question though, there's some law in Florida that talks. about responsibility of a tenant if. they're not in control of a common area. of a property. >> That issue is still being worked out in. the courts though. uh as we feel that. we've got a strong position as to why. both entities are responsible. >> What was the defense? I mean, was it. that it wasn't a common area? Were they. blaming one another? What was the. defense that you saw? >> Yeah, the defense was this wasn't.

foreseeable. There was no way that they. would have known to anticipate one that. a tenant So, the property owner said, "Look, I I rent this out to a guy who. operates a gym. That's what he tells me. he does. I don't think he's doing. anything else. I don't know he's doing. salsa parties. I don't know that he's. hosting pop-up marijuana parties." Yeah, it's it's reasonable. But the problem. was the owner never took any steps to do. inspections of the property. Had he done. so, he would have seen that the space. was being used for more than just a gym. And so for the owner of the property, the defense was this wasn't foreseeable. And for the gym owner, they really had. no defense except to say we just didn't.

think this would happen. We knew that we. probably should not have rented it out. to this group of individuals that were. hosting this event. But we didn't have. any reason to believe that there would. be a shooting. >> $11 million. How did it get to 11. million? I mean, that's a that's a big. win. You had a 34y old who was killed. who left behind two children, left. behind a family. Uh you know the the the. losses are well beyond 11 million. You. know we asked for more the jury that's. what they returned. But in this case I. mean you had a 34y old father left. behind at the time a daughter who was 17.

a son who was 14. And you ask well how. do you get to 11 million? It's the. testimony of the children. Having a. 14-year-old who at the time of trial was. 18 years old. He had just finished high. school. The daughter was in her early. 20s. But having them talk about the. impact of not having a dad around. anymore for graduations, the daughter is. is going to get married shortly, not. having a father who's there to walk her. down the aisle. You know, those are the. types of damages that I think connected. with the jury. >> No, what's that worth? >> 100%. And some you don't know what. they're worth. I mean, it's hard the 11.

million um h how is the family doing. right now and has that been paid over or. is that going to be a process? >> Uh the 11 million has not been paid. Uh. we're still working through the court. process. Uh there will likely be an. appeal taken uh depending on what the. decision is made in the circuit court. The family, how are they coping? You. know, they're doing the best they can. These are admirable children. All of the. family members, extended family members, etc. But they're doing the best they. can. >> Yeah. >> And it forced them, a 14-year-old in. particular, his son. Yeah. He his.

testimony at trial was, you know, this. wasn't just my dad. He was my friend. >> Yeah. >> Right. And so it forced him to grow up a. lot faster. both him and his sister to. grow up a lot faster than otherwise. >> You know, it's funny. You say in the. law, foreseeability. I'm a lawyer, too, right? Foreseeability. For Mr. Chung, there was probably never could imagine. that something like that would happen. His family probably never could imagine. like something like that would happen. It's such a It's such a horrible, horrible case. You mentioned the appeal, right? So, there's an appeal to get it. back to that original split.

>> So, after the verdict, uh there were. post-trial motions that were filed by. the defendants. uh one of the post-trial. motions uh essentially requested a new. trial which was granted at the trial. court level. Uh we are currently uh. there are motions that our side you know. we have filed uh against that that are. playing themselves out. Once we have. rulings on the motions that are pending. in the circuit court then we'll. determine whether or not there will be. an appeal. >> It's interesting when you have a case a.

civil case that is connected to a. criminal investigation. And correct me. if I'm wrong, but the Orange County. deputies, they were still doing their. investigation when this lawsuit was. filed and uh Royo Galva hadn't been. arrested yet, right? I mean, how did. that affect it? >> So, it didn't affect our case. Uh, but. you are right. The criminal. investigation was still underway, actively underway as we were litigating. our case. Shortly before trial, Mr. Aoyo. Galva was apprehended in Georgia. But it. really has no effect, Jesse. You would.

think it would, but it doesn't because. in the criminal department, the state. attorney in the state of Florida, they're prosecuting this individual for. what he did, the criminal act. In our. setting, it's a civil arena and we're. not prosecuting Mr. Oya Galva. Yes, certainly he is responsible. He's the. one who chose to fire this bullet. Our. position is a little bit different. It's. more nuanced. What we're saying is this. property owner allowed for this to. happen and he allowed for it to happen. because he failed to have any security. measures on site. In Orange County, to. give you an example, the Orange County. Sheriff's Department will come out and.

give any commercial property owner a. free at no cost at all uh audit. They. will come out, they'll walk the property. with the owner, an agent of the owner, and they will give the owner a report. telling you what your safety obligations. are. This particular property owner did. not even know that that was an option. that was available to him. And so in our. case, when we are proceeding against the. property owner and the tenant, we're not. so much saying that you're responsible. for pulling the trigger on the gun that. actually led to the death. We're saying. you're responsible for creating the.

circumstances that allowed it to happen. >> It's separate. It's different. In other. words, you don't believe the. circumstances of your case really are. going to play into the criminal trial at. all. >> There's a reason why a shooting like. this wouldn't happen in the middle of. Times Square, New York, right? Because. there's security presence there. There. are people there. There's a reason why. it happens at a uh office building. that's got dim lighting, inadequate. security, no barriers to entry for. anyone, meaning anyone can access the. property. >> There was something else I wanted to. mention to you. You don't always get it, but sometimes you get jury questions. that come up during deliberations. I.

always think it's interesting. Kind of. gives an insight into what the jury. might be thinking. So, there was one. question that said, "Can the award. amount be appealed?" What did that tell. you about the mindset of the jury? >> It told us uh when we got that question, it was late at night. We got this. verdict, I think around 11:00 at night. This was around 10:00. So, it told us. that they had passed the issue of. liability and now they were considering. damages, right? So, we were optimistic, meaning if they were going to rule. against our clients, uh, they wouldn't.

be asking a question about damages. Uh, and then, you know, the issue is, well, how much are they going to award? We. asked for more than 11 million. And our. thought is different jurors, they come. in with different experiences. People. hear lots of things about, well, you've. got runaway juries and and verdicts that. are large and then they may be reduced. after the fact. And so, I think that was. playing in the back of their mind. Well, hey, if we award the amount that's being. asked for, uh, is that something that'll. stand or will a court or will some other. body come and reduce that amount? >> Do you think at this point in time that.

the family is going to see the $1. million? >> I I do. I'm optimistic. We we will make. sure of it. We're not going to stop. until they do. It's It's the right. thing. a jury of their peers, jury of. their peers decided that that's what. they were entitled to. >> So, we talk about Morgan Morgan all the. time on Cybar. Um, this is one of those. cases that, you know, obviously I think. it's showing the work of Morgan and. Morgan in action, but also I it's it's. such a tragedy. There's such a human. element to this. I feel terrible for Mr.

Chung's family. So, our thoughts, our. prayers are with them. Um, we'll. continue to follow it, see how it. progresses. But, Veruna Ramarine, thank. you so much for coming in and explaining. a little bit more to us. really. appreciate it. >> Thank you for having me, Jesse. And the. Chung family thanks you as well. >> You got it. 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 Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. [music] You can follow me on X or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak. to you next time.