Family Of Victim Burned To Death By Homeless Man Drops Lawsuit Against City Of Long Beach
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — The family of a 63-year-old victim who was killed by a homeless man abandoned their lawsuit against the City of Long Beach on Tuesday.
According to police, Jerry Payne was burned to death on April 14, 2013, inside his Toyota 4-Runner -- parked in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store in the 5100 block of Pacific Coast Highway -- after 38-year-old Raymond Sean Clark, threw a flammable device into the vehicle.
Payne was transported in critical condition to a hospital for treatment of severe burns that covered most of his body. Several days later, officials pronounced him dead at the hospital.
Clark was arrested about a block away from the crime scene, police added.
He was charged with capital murder on April 16, 2013, where he plead not guilty to one count each of murder and arson causing great bodily injury, the Long Beach City Attorney's Office added.
Payne's relatives filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach, and claimed the city failed to provide adequate protection against "the dangerous propensities of the local transients, vagrants and panhandlers," authorities explained.
The city attorney's office immediately filed a motion to dismiss the case, and argued that California law protected them from being held legally responsible for random acts of violence.
The attorney's who represented Payne's family agreed to dismiss the case against the city, just days before they were scheduled to appear in court.
Payne's family filed an additional lawsuit against the 7-Eleven convenience store where the incident occurred, which will still proceed.
The motive for the attack remains unknown.
