Mother of Robber Shot Dead by Security Guard during Hold-Up Is Suing

    Sept. 25, 2004
    Mother claims that facility should have "trained" and "restrained" guards

    Source Akron Beacon Journal via Associated Press

    The mother of a dead Akron, Ohio, man is suing the security guard who shot him during a holdup.

    In the lawsuit filed Friday in Summit County Common Pleas Court, Ida S. Ashford said she suffered a financial loss from the death of her son, Bryan Maurice Thompson, 31.

    He was killed when he and accomplice Brian L. Davis, 31, of Akron attempted to rob security guard Bayard Betleyoun Jr., 52, in September 2002 near the Summit Check Cashing store on Arlington Street.

    When Davis and Thompson approached Betleyoun after he had picked up the daily cash from a nearby FirstMerit Bank, the guard fired three shots and killed Thompson.

    Ashford said that Summit Check Cashing should have employed security guards who were well-trained and restrained in the use of force.

    She is seeking $490,000 in a jury trial.

    Davis was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the holdup.