$22.4 million awarded victim in store robbery

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:19 a.m.

A Clark County jury awarded the brain-damaged victim of a robbery $22.4 million Monday, finding her teenage attackers held the bulk of the responsibility for her injury.

Lorraine Mosca won her suit against the teenagers but lost her suit against the property owners, who she claimed should have had more security, which could have prevented the attack. The jury ruled the property owners, Farallon Decatur Meadows LTD, held no responsibility.

Mosca's attorney, Marc Cook, acknowledged there's little chance she will see much of the award because of the financial situations of the youths and their parents.

In October 1995, Mosca, 29, was injured when a large group of teenagers stormed the Wherehouse music store where she worked to steal all of the merchandise they could carry. Mosca was knocked to the ground and struck in the head, and a co-worker, Kristina Lukehart, suffered a broken nose.

Mosca suffered brain damage in the attack and was forced to undergo five brain surgeries. She also had to re-learn how to walk, talk and swallow.

The pair sued five of the teens and the company. The jury ruled that Mosca herself should bear less than 1 percent of the blame and the rest of the blame rests on the shoulders of the five youths -- Andre Colon, Rasool Ramoz, Raaziq Ramoz, Marcus Hall and Deshon Tyler.

Theoretically, the $22.4 million they awarded Mosca for past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering and future wage loss should be paid by the defendants according to the percentage they were assigned.

Cook said he plans to take a closer look at the jury's ruling to see if an appeal is possible. His client and her parents declined to comment.

The jury awarded Lukehart about $100,000, but determined that she was 0.5 percent responsible for her injuries and the teens were responsible for the remaining 99.5 percent.

James Rosenberger, who represented Farrallon Decatur Meadows, said that what happened at the store was unfortunate, but the security there was adequate.

"Bad things happen," Rosenberger said during his closing arguments Friday. "It doesn't matter if you have security. It doesn't matter if you have the police. It doesn't matter if you have other things, bad things happen."

Rosenberger told jurors Mosca and Lukehart should bear some of the responsibility for the attacks because Lukehart admitted feeling frightened by the youths but didn't immediately call the police.

Moreover, Lukehart could be heard on a 911 tape telling the dispatcher after the robbery that she and Mosca had tried to stop the thieves, Rosenberger said.

Cook noted that the youths who attacked Mosca participated in a similar robbery one month prior at a Best Buy store. No one was hurt in that incident because there was security on the premises and one of the youths later confessed they picked Mosca's store because they knew there was no security.

Rasool Ramoz said it would be "an easy hit," Cook said.

Cook reminded the jury that a security expert testified that Farallon Decatur Meadows should have known security was needed because the police responded to 472 calls over a 1,005-day period in the same area. Twelve of those calls were robberies.

Cook asked for $1.1 million for Mosca just for lost wages alone. He told the jurors that they couldn't possibly give Mosca and Lukehart too much money considering what they went through.

He suggested that Farallon was 90 percent at fault for the incident and the youths should bear the rest of the responsibility -- both morally and financially.

By attaching a dollar amount to the youths and their parents, Cook said, the youths will "get the message that they're accountable for their actions."

Because they were juveniles at the time of the attacks it is unclear if two of the youths named in Mosca and Lukehart's lawsuit -- Deshon Tyler and Raaziq Ramoz -- were ever held criminally liable.

As for the others, Colon, 23, is serving eight to 20 years for striking Mosca. Rasool Ramoz, 23, and Hall, 24, are serving five to 20 years. Ramoz and Hall will first be eligible for parole in 2002 and 2003, respectively, according to the Nevada Department of Prisons.

Julie Ramoz, Rasool and Raaziq's mother, told jurors Raaziq wasn't even at the shopping mall that evening so she and his father shouldn't be held accountable for his alleged actions.