ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Criticism is being directed at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office almost two years following a series of violent shootings that resulted in the deaths of a 9-year-old girl, an Orlando TV reporter, and another woman.
A lawsuit has been filed against the sheriff’s office on behalf of three victims from the shootings: T’Yonna Major, Brandi Turner, and Dylan Lyons, as announced by NeJame Law in a statement released on Monday.
The tragic event unfolded in February 2023 when Keith Moses, 21, fatally shot 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin. Augustin’s body was discovered near a car on Hialeah Street, according to deputies. NeJame Law’s press release highlights Augustin’s position as a respected figure in the hip-hop scene, known for her performances under the alias “Honey D.”
“After Nathacha Augustin was brutally murdered, a witness inside the vehicle she was shot in quickly identified the shooter as Keith Moses, who fled the scene on foot,” the lawsuit reads. “Moses’ description was not released to the public despite his unique and distinct appearance.”
According to the lawsuit, deputies managed to clean up the crime scene and reopen the area within around four hours, but failed to notify residents that Moses could still be in the area, even after being asked for information.
One of those residents was Turner, who had returned to the neighborhood after picking up her 9-year-old daughter from school. The lawsuit claims she noticed the investigation and stopped to ask a deputy what was going on, and she was simply told, “Everything is under control.”
But investigators said that hours after Augustin was killed, Moses came back to the area, entering Turner’s home through the back door nearly half an hour after deputies left the crime scene.
According to the sheriff’s office, that’s when Moses fatally shot 9-year-old T’Yonna Major and wounded her mother. He then fled the home, running into a Spectrum News 13 news team that was reporting on Augustin’s death.
“Minutes after Moses left the home of Brandi Turner and T’Yonna Major, (reporter) Dylan Lyons’ cameraman was unloading equipment from the back of the van when Moses approached the van and opened fire, striking the cameraman,” the lawsuit continues. “Moses continued shooting as he walked around to the side of the vehicle, pointed the gun at Dylan Lyons, and shot him in cold blood.”
While the cameraman and Turner ultimately survived their encounters with Moses, both Major and Lyons succumbed to their injuries, deputies later announced.
Shortly after this second round of shootings, deputies once more responded to the neighborhood and found Moses, whom they arrested after several minutes, the lawsuit states.
“After almost three minutes of Moses being in the direct line of vision of several deputies, two minutes of which his arms are raised as if to show surrender, Moses was apprehended and detained by deputies,” the lawsuit asserts. “The body-worn camera footage displayed a lackadaisical and unconcerned demeanor among the deputies.”
Moses was ultimately charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary, resisting arrest, shooting into a building, shooting into an occupied vehicle, carrying a concealed firearm, armed trespassing, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s office of racial discrimination, saying the agency does not provide adequate protection to residents of the Pine Hills area.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office maintains a policy that denies equal protection to residents of Pine Hills, such as T’Yonna Major, while similarly situated Windermere residents enjoy heightened security and safety measures for violent crimes,” the lawsuit claims. “By assigning inadequate personnel and safety measures to the residents of the primarily minority neighborhood of Pine Hills, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office denies residents such as T’Yonna Major access to public safety programs.”
The lawsuit asserts that Turner and her daughter were rendered “more vulnerable” to the killing spree after the deputy claimed that everything was under control.
In addition, the lawsuit says that deputies had released information about the shooting to the media, inducing an “affirmative duty to protect the news reporters who responded to the scene.” With Lyons’ death, deputies failed in that duty, the lawsuit claims.
As a result of these alleged failures, the lawsuit seeks compensation from the sheriff’s office for the damages incurred by Turner, as well as the estates of Major and Lyons.
This is the second lawsuit attorney Mark NeJame has filed regarding the 2023 killing spree. Last month he announced another case against Charter Communications on behalf of Lyons’ estate.
In that case, NeJame claims that the company — which owns Spectrum News 13 — was responsible for sending Lyons out to the crime scene, where he was ultimately shot and killed.
The read the copy of the lawsuit filed on Monday against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, see below:
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