2 arrests made in deadly Lake Worth Beach bar shooting
LAKE WORTH - Two arrests have been made in a downtown Lake Worth Beach shooting earlier this week that left two men dead and two others injured.
On their Facebook page, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the alleged gunman, identified as 23-year-old Morey Pinard III, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm.
Pinard's alleged accomplice, 19-year-old Michael Vititoe, has been charged with simple battery and accessory after the fact in a homicide.
Old Key Lime House, a waterfront restaurant in Lantana, is where the four shooting victims worked. Cordero and some employees from the Old Key Lime House attended the court hearing for Pinard and Vititoe, who appeared in court on Thursday mornign.
The shooting took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday at The Rock Irish Pub on Lake Avenue, near South K Street.
A witness told CBS-affiliate WPEC that she and a group of her co-workers from Old Key Lime House attended a holiday party at Lilo's Streetfood and Bar. She said several in the group then left to go play pool at The Rock Irish Pub across the street. She said she stepped out for a moment and returned to chaos.
"When I came back I saw police pull up, (I) immediately ran in and saw two of our coworkers deceased on the floor," she said.
As for the other two, "one was in pretty bad condition and the other one already ran out and found an ambulance," the witness said.
The sheriff's office identified the two men who died as Christopher Allen, 33, and Steven Stratis, 24. Of the two men who were injured, one was taken to the hospital in critical condition, the other was stable. They were later identified as Reginald Gordon, 50 and Daquan Sigler, 30, according to Ryan Cordero, the owner of the Old Key Lime House.
According to the sheriff's office, another witness said that while they were taking pictures at the holiday party, he encountered Pinard and Vititoe, who bumped into him and caused him to drop his camera. When he asked if they were okay, they replied "Yo, you got a problem?" That moment led to an argument, in which Pinard and Vititoe asked the witness to step outside of the pub.
The witness then went to tell his uncle about the situation and they were walking to the front of the bar when Vititoe punched him in the face, WPEC reported. It was then that Pinard pulled out a gun and began shooting.
Another witness reported hearing approximately nine shots and only saw Pinard firing.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video that caught the moments leading up to the shooting, which showed Pinard and Vititoe entering the bar and mingling with other patrons before tensions heated up between Vititoe and another man before the two suspects fled the scene when gunfire erupted, WPEC reported.
Security footage also showed that Pinard appeared to be carrying what looked like a firearm as they exited the bar.
One witness, identified as Vititoe's girlfriend, identified both suspects, leading to their arrest.
Pinard and Vititoe are both being held at the Palm Beach County Jail.
"It's reprehensible, despicable, an abomination," said Cordero told WPEC shortly after the men appeared in court.
