09 | 2 | 2006 Posted By William G. Pintas
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Jury Awards Woman Shot in Wal-Mart Parking Lot $4.2 Million

"Lee, an employee at the Hapeville Ford Motor Co. plant, stopped by the Riverdale Wal-Mart after work at 1:30 a.m. on March 8, 2001, to pick up party supplies. Her 9-year-old son was asleep inside her Ford Explorer, which she parked under a light pole close to the front entrance.

When she left the store, Riggins demanded her keys. Lee dropped the keys and ran, but Riggins shot her in the back with a .380-caliber handgun.

Lee was able to get her son out of the SUV before Riggins drove away.

He was caught within minutes.

In her suit, Lee complained about a lack of security at the shopping center and was able to provide a list of 398 visits by police to that store for various crimes in the 20 months leading up to her shooting.

"That should have been sufficient to put Wal-Mart on notice that crimes were being committed there," said Lance Cooper, Lee's lawyer. "Also Wal-Mart had a policy to have security patrols but chose to not put them into place at that store."

Cooper said Wal-Mart officials also destroyed a surveillance videotape of the attack after Riggins was convicted."

Read the full article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


 
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