Two former employees of Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Midlothian sued the south suburban nightclub Wednesday after they were wounded in a 2018 shooting that led to a white Midlothian police officer fatally shooting Black security guard Jemel Roberson.
The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleges that owner Nakeeah Buchanan Smith and her husband, manager Irvin Smith, knowingly allowed “unsavory characters” back into the nightclub, formerly located at 2911 S. Claire Blvd. in Robbins, on Nov. 11, 2018, after they were kicked out for flashing gang signs and using alleged illegal substances. It also names Laverne Williams and Emmanual Williams Trust as defendants, claiming the property owner “turned a blind eye to the goings on at its property.”
Smith and the nightclub management allegedly let the group back in against the wishes of the security guards “because it was Saturday night and they wanted their money, knowing there would be trouble,” according to the lawsuit. Later on, a fight broke out and at least one member of the group opened fire, striking Dorian Myrickes, who was contracted as a security guard, and bartender Monique Jordan, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges Manny’s Blue Room Lounge had a history of allowing gang members in who “previously caused trouble” and openly used drugs, as well as failing to check them for weapons. The nightclub also didn’t have proper business or liquor licenses, according to the lawsuit.
Myrickes and Jordan are seeking at least $50,000 in damages for “pain, anxiety, permanent injury, and monetary loss and expenses,” the lawsuit states.
In the mayhem that night, Midlothian police officer Ian Covey shot Roberson, another security guard who had subdued a suspected gunman, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. Covey was not charged for the shooting.
