Carjacking Victim Plans to Sue Walgreens - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

Carjacking Victim Plans to Sue Walgreens

By Andrew Hasbun
andrew@wlbt.net

Just a week before a delivery man was murdered outside a Jackson Walgreens store, a woman was carjacked at the same location.  Now that woman wants to hold Walgreens accountable.  She has filed a lawsuit and is seeking more than one million dollars in damages.

It was 9:15pm on October 12th.  In the Walgreens parking lot at Northside and Nrothbrook, a man pulled a gun on Venice Henderson.

"Everything after that was like a horrible nightmare. I live it every night," said the victim, Venice Henderson.

Henderson's attacker is still on the loose.  She says the man fired a shot in the air and demanded her keys. She gave them up but also tried to get away. Then he opened fire again.

"It was to the point that he fired twice," said Henderson. Once was in the air and that was enough for me to know that he wasn't joking.  But when he put that gun in my face, there was no hesitance. He was serious."

The attacker and another man got into Henderson's car and left.  The victim then ran inside Walgreens and claims she was shocked when she found employees unresponsive and the security guard talking on her cell phone.

"Everyone was standing around," said Henderson. "They heard the gunshots and nobody did anything."

This is the same Walgreens where Marcus Riddley, 36, was shot a killed while making a delivery. Police still have not identified the killer. That crime occurred just a week after Henderson's carjacking.

Attorney Robert F. Wilkins represents the victim. He says he has evidence proving Walgreens was aware of the area's crime problem.

"If nothing ever happens you don't have to worry about it," said Wilkins.  "It is when you have a pattern of repeated violent criminal acts or when you have notice of specific individuals that have violent criminal tendencies then you have some liability." 

Security camera footage from inside the store shows Henderson's carjacker moments before the crime, and Wilkins says employees suspected he was up to no good.

"He actually comes in the store with a hood, you can barely see his face and he is walking around, strutting around, and they thought he looked suspicious and did nothing about it," said Henderson.

Venice Henderson is a naval reservist and hurricane Katrina survivor.  All her uniforms were and many other possessions were in that car which has still not been found.

Henderson's car is a 1999 silver or gray Honda Civic with military tags.  The tag number is C-4-0-5-L.  If you can help, call the Jackson police department.