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Pennsylvania state police and Luzerne County detectives are currently investigating a fatal shooting that took place outside of Robby Nick’s Sports Bar early Thursday morning. The shooting occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. outside of the bar on East Main Street in Plymouth.
According to the state police, 34-year-old Kyon McDonald shot 33-year-old Tierees Owens several times and then fled the scene. An ambulance rushed Owens to a hospital, where he later died. Investigators found multiple shell casings and a bloody shirt outside of the tavern. Investigators are reviewing footage from several surveillance cameras at the bar and other nearby businesses.
An arrest warrant for criminal homicide has been issued for McDonald. State police believe he is driving an older model white Jeep or a gold Cadillac sedan. He is 6 feet tall, roughly 177 pounds, and was last seen wearing a green “Sprite” t-shirt, a green baseball hat, and blue jeans.
The same location on Main Street has been the site of several other violent incidents.
In 2017, when the bar was known as RisNick’s another man was shot and killed outside of the bar. Police arrested 38-year-old Anthony Lamar Jackson for the shooting death of victim Anthony James Wisneski following this incident.
In May 2010, 36-year-old Jeremy Kendricks was convicted of killing Kirk Lipscomb after an altercation inside of the bar, at that time known as the Bull Run Tavern, in September 2008. He was sentenced to 20-40 years in state prison.
In November 2009, when the bar was called Olde Tymers Pub, authorities padlocked the doors after classifying it as a nuisance bar. The owner agreed to close the bar for one year.
Attorney contributor Guy D'Andrea represents violent crime victims and their families in civil court. Here is his perspective on the legal options available to the victims of bar shootings and stabbings:
Gun violence destroys lives and affects entire families. When a shooting occurs at a business like a bar or a nightclub, it’s important to ask questions regarding the circumstances around the shooting. Determining who is responsible and arresting them is always the first priority. However, we should also ask if the owner of the property where the shooting occurred was partially responsible for failing to prevent the shooting due to negligence.
While not all shootings are preventable, many may have been stopped if there had been better security at the scene. Property owners have a legal duty to do all that they can to safeguard from the risk of foreseeable violent crime. For example, the owner of a bar with a history of violence could hire security guards and require guests to be searched for weapons before entering the bar. A failure to meet this legal duty may be considered negligence.
In bar shooting cases involving property owner negligence, the victims and their families may have grounds for a lawsuit against the property owner. If you or someone you love was recently injured or killed during a violent incident at a bar, you can learn more about your family’s legal options by speaking with an experienced gun crime injury lawyer.
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