Money courier sues over bank robbery shooting

By Steve Green

Thursday, May 21, 2009 | 1:55 a.m.

A money courier shot and wounded during a dramatic bank robbery two years ago in Las Vegas has sued Wells Fargo Bank, claiming he was injured because of inadequate security.

Douglas Kaya and his wife, Sara Bueno, filed suit Monday in Clark County District Court against the bank and a bank official.

Kaya said that after entering the bank branch at Tropicana and Eastern avenues on June 12, 2007, he was shot multiple times in the face and neck, suffering extensive and permanent injuries. Bueno alleged her husband's injuries have led to a loss of companionship with him.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the suit.

Police at the time said the gunman, later identified as Charles Edward Lucas, 35, produced a weapon and demanded money but received none as a teller ducked behind a barrier. When Kaya, a Loomis armored-truck guard, walked in with a bag full of money, he was shot twice, police reported.

The gunman escaped and later shot and killed himself during a police pursuit in California. Police had also linked him to another robbery and shooting of a security guard at the Gold Coast casino.

Kaya's lawsuit complained that although the bank was being robbed, one or more bank officials allowed him to enter the unsecured lobby where he was shot. The suit seeks unspecified general, special and punitive damages, claiming the bank was negligent in failing to maintain adequate security, supervising the premises, failing to warn Kaya of hazards on the premises and in its hiring and training employees.