I've worked with him for the past year and a half at my job and can't believe this happened to him.
Killa City
Jeremy Mott homicide: Victim's family says he was killed protecting his sister, blames Balanca's
Ever since Jeremy Mott was found dead in the passenger seat of a green Dodge Charger this weekend, after a bar fight in Balanca's, people have been asking why the 20-year-old was even in the club, and how a bar fight could so easily escalate into a shooting.
Mott's family released a statement yesterday, giving its version of events and putting some of the blame on Balanca's, alleging poor security.
According to the statement, Mott, his cousin and a few friends were at the bar Friday night for a hip-hop-album release party. All of them were, the family says, under 21. After the group performed, Mott and his cousin got up onstage with the group to dance. From the stage, Mott apparently saw his sister and an unnamed female cousin in a fight with an unidentified man, who allegedly hit Mott's sister in the face. Mott went to help his sister, and he and the assailant started their own brawl.
From there, the family says, things went seriously wrong:
"In the process Jeremy's female cousin got hit in the face with a bottle. There were also other fights that pursued throughout the club with several other patrons," the statement says. "Supposedly, because the fights were so out of control and the owner could not stop all the fights, she fired a gun shot into the floor to get everyone out of the club. Meanwhile, Jeremy had left the club prior to this and went to his friend's car to call his mother to let her know what had happened. He told her that it wasn't his fight, he was only trying to defend his sister, and he was clearly upset, because it's not in his character to fight anyone for no apparent reason. As he was talking to his mother, the phone went dead. He was shot 9 times in the head according to the medical report."
I've called Kansas City police to check the family's version against a police report, and will update the story if the cops can release anything at this time, which might not be possible because this is an ongoing investigation. I also called Balanca's but wasn't able to reach anyone there.
Mott's family is placing at least part of the blame on Balanca's, believing that if the bar had better security and had done a better job of checking IDs, this wouldn't have happened.
"Jeremy and his two cousins along with several of their friends (around 10 people) were all under the age of 21 and were able to enter the club and purchase alchohol from Balanca's bar. the statement says.
"While we are not placing the full blame on Balanca's for his death, we feel that this would have never happened if they were denied access to the club or if proper security was provided. They are partially to blame for our loss along with the ruthless cowards that took Jeremy's life."
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2010/10/jeremy_mott_homicide_balancas.php
