Lawsuit Claims IHOP Management Could Have Prevented Homicide
LANCASTER (CBSDFW.COM) - A lawsuit, filed by the family of a man killed at a Lancaster IHOP in April, says restaurant management could have prevented the shooting. It claims the suspect made threats at the restaurant twice in the days before it happened.
Mylik Butcher was 23-years-old and an employee at IHOP when he was shot multiple times outside of the restaurant. Police say 21-year-old Tadarrius Winters pulled the trigger, believing Butcher was involved with the mother of his children, fellow IHOP employee Destinee Franks.
"He was just trying to help somebody," Mike Butcher said of his son when he spoke to CBS 11 News in April. "He was trying to help a girl he worked with."
Franks was also shot but survived. Now, the Butchers have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against IHOP and its parent company. It claims that, two days before the shooting, Winters went to IHOP "and notified [IHOP management] of his intent to 'shoot up the entire restaurant.'"
It says management did not report the threat, and that "had the police been contacted, Winters would likely have been arrested." However, Lancaster police confirm that someone called 911 that day from outside of the restaurant and reported a verbal confrontation between a woman and the father of her children. Police responded, and she told them there was no assault.
The lawsuit also says, "On the following day, April 14, 2018, Winters returned to IHOP and made similar terroristic threats. Again, IHOP Restaurants made no effort to contact the police to report the threats to ensure its employees, workers and business invitees were safe on the premises."
"This happened on my son's job. This guy had been harassing my son for a couple of days since last Friday. He'd been harassing my son" Butcher said in April. "I don't know why this had to happen. You didn't have to kill my son like that."
The lawsuit asks for relief of more than $1 million. We reached out to IHOP for a statement but never received one.
