MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WHNT) — The father of a teenager shot and killed at a Muscle Shoals hotel has filed a lawsuit against the inn and other parties involved.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Mario Richardson on July 24. Richardson is the father of Demarion Richardson, who police said was shot and killed at a Muscle Shoals Red Roof Inn in June 2024.
The lawsuit says that on June 16, 2024, before the deadly shooting, the employees at the Red Rood Inn knowingly rented a room to a group of unaccompanied minors. The document says this is in violation of the company’s internal policies, which require a valid government-issued ID and a credit card to be presented by an adult guest at the time of check-in.
In addition to the internal policies, Alabama law prohibits a person under the age of 19 from entering into binding lodging contracts.
According to the document, the underage occupants in the hotel room were “observed openly consuming alcohol and illicit drugs in the room and surrounding common areas, including the parking lot.”
The document also says, “The subject Red Roof Inn has a history of criminal activity, including prior incidents of violence, drug use, underage drinking, and firearms on the premises.”
Despite knowing the danger, the lawsuit says the Red Rood Inn failed to do the following:
- Failed to station any security personnel at the Inn
- Failed to monitor the exterior breezeways or common areas where the minors were seen to be intoxicated
- Ignored loud noises, marijuana smoke and obvious signs that underage children were in the Inn
- Failed to remove or investigate the minors for their presence
- Failed to call officials to intervene before the deadly shooting
Around 7:28 a.m., the lawsuit says an unnamed minor brought a handgun to the hotel room. It also says the minor was intoxicated and “did not realize that not only was the firearm loaded, but that a round was also in the chamber.”
As a prank, the document says the intoxicated minor pointed the handgun between Demarion Richardson’s eyes and pulled the trigger, firing the gun and sending a bullet into his head.
Demarion Richardson was taken to Helen Keller Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His father says that because of the security actions and enforcements not taken by the Inn, the Inn should be held responsible for the wrongful death of his son.
“Despite knowledge of systemic safety violations and recurring criminal activity at the subject Red Roof Inn in Muscle Shoals, the corporate defendants failed to take corrective action, revoke the franchise license, or implement meaningful reforms. Red Roof Inns, Inc. and Red Roof Franchising, LLC permitted the continued use of their brand, logos, reservation systems, and reputation, all while minors were being rented rooms in violation of corporate policy,” the lawsuit says.
Below are the counts Mario Richardson claims the Inn and other fictitious defendants in the lawsuit are liable for:
Count 1- Negligence causing wrongful death
The document says the defendants owed Demarion Richardson a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm. Specifically, this count says the defendants owed duties to:
- Hold off on renting rooms to unaccompanied minors under the age of 19
- Confirm guest identities and ages
- Enforce internal corporate policies requiring adult supervision
- Monitor and remove disruptive people from the property
- Train employees to recognize & report illegal activity
- Provide adequate security at a place with documented criminal behavior
- Maintain working surveillance systems
- Notify law enforcement of unlawful or suspicious conduct
- Conduct regular safety and policy checks
In addition to this, this count says the defendants named breached “each and every one of these duties [listed]”:
- Allowing minors to rent and/or occupy rooms in direct violation of company policy
- Failing to request or verify proper identification for guests
- Ignoring multiple signs of unlawful conduct, including loud noise, marijuana smoke, visible underage occupants, and public intoxication
- Permitting the premises to operate without any security guard or patrol despite knowledge of past violent episodes
- Failing to train staff to intervene or respond to illegal activity
- Failing to remove the minors from the property or alert authorities to the behavior prior to the fatal shooting
- Turning a blind eye to repeated violations to preserve profit and occupancy rates
Count 2- Wantonness causing wrongful death
This count states that the defendants named acted wantonly by knowingly engaging in conduct that contributed to a high risk of death or serious bodily harm. This includes:
- Renting rooms to unaccompanied minors in flagrant violation of both legal restrictions and internal safety protocols
- Permitting underage persons to loiter, party, and openly consume alcohol and drugs on hotel premises without any effort to intervene
- Operating a facility with a reputation for prior violence, underage parties, and criminal conduct, while failing to provide even a single security officer or external patrol
- Turning a blind eye to excessive noise, noxious odors, and other obvious red flags indicating unlawful activity
- Ignoring warnings from law enforcement and public incident reports that established the risk of serious harm at this specific location
This section also says the defendants “prioritized profits over protection,” leading to the death of Demarion Richardson.
Count 3- Joint venture causing wrongful death
The lawsuit says the defendants functioned as a “de facto joint venture,” operating a business to which minors knowingly rented and occupied the rooms without supervision, revenues from room rentals were shared among the operating entities, as well as coordination and knowledge between the businesses to facilitate a pattern of unlawful activity to which the entities profitted from.
“As a direct and proximate consequence of jointly engaging in said venture, these Defendants established among themselves the joint liability and joint responsibility for any injuries and damages suffered by others as the result of the combination of the resources and abilities enabling the joint venture,” the lawsuit says.
Count 4- Conspiracy causing wrongful death
The document says the purpose of this conspiracy was to generate profit from renting hotel rooms to unsupervised minors for parties and unsupervised consumption of drugs and alcohol, as well as concealing ongoing criminal conduct for financial profits.
Count 5- Fictitious parties
“Plaintiff alleges any and all causes of action set out in this Complaint or in any Amended Complaint against the fictitious Defendants labeled, identified, described, or referenced in the style, caption, and/or body of this complaint,” the document says.
Mario Richardson is requesting a jury trial in this lawsuit.
The post Father files wrongful death lawsuit against Muscle Shoals hotel where teen was shot, killed appeared first on WHNT.
