Big Preceding Violence! Seminole’s Cabana Live’s History Marked by Fights and Gunfire

DEBARYLIFE – Reports obtained on Tuesday show that over the past year, deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office have been called to Cabana Live, a restaurant and bar on the St. Johns River, numerous times. These calls have included those related to gunfire, fights breaking out, batterings, and large numbers of cars flooding the parking lot.

However, Seminole County didn’t respond until after a weekend shooting at an ostensibly unlawful pool party left ten people injured, including an NFL player.

Cabana Live had been hosting parties till the early hours of the morning, perhaps without the necessary permissions, and had been promoting events on its website for months, but county officials had not previously alerted the club to this fact.

On Monday, everything finally turned around. Marinas LLC, the Orlando business that subleased its space to Cabana Live, received a stern letter from the Seminole County Port Authority, the facility’s landlord, informing it that it was in breach of the terms of the lease and giving it 45 days to stop any further violations.

The port authorities threatened to evict Marinas LLC from its location on Carraway Place if it didn’t comply.

The authority’s head, Matthew Criswell, wrote that the celebrations had been so big that the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office had reported cars filling the parking lot to capacity. Furthermore, state law considers nocturnal operations that lead to fights, shootings, and other unlawful acts to be a nuisance. These practices can also be in violation of a number of other regulations.

However, the newly disclosed material begs the concerns of whether more force is required to prevent such incidents in the future and why no one looked more closely at Cabana Live’s operations before the weekend massacre.

The Port Authority was informed by the marina operator that “late-night events will no longer take place” and that the previous events were held “unbeknownst to the Port Authority,” according to a news release issued by the authority on Tuesday afternoon.

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On Tuesday, county officials announced that they are still looking into whether or not Cabana Live’s events needed special events permits since they might have exceeded the building’s occupancy restrictions. However, they stated that as of right now, Seminole has no intention of issuing tickets for any code infractions.

“To issue citations, code enforcement officers must observe violations,” a county spokesperson named Andy Wontor stated. “They are not allowed to use oral word to issue citations retroactively.”

The county could need to take additional measures, according to Seminole Commissioner Andria Herr, a member of the Port Authority board. She advised carefully reviewing the rules and procedures of the county regarding special events, including whether or not security should be needed. Although the weekend event at Cabana Live apparently featured ten security guards, Seminole does not currently require protection when issuing licenses for special events.

Regarding the several calls to Cabana Live made to the Sheriff’s Office before a warning was given to the property owners, she stated, “As a board member, I can tell you that I am highly displeased.” “We will definitely investigate it thoroughly.However, there’s a good chance that the Port Authority employees were unaware of it. It’s true that I was unaware of it.

The Port Authority “has the grip to get this to stop and they’ve taken the initial step to get this straightened out,” the speaker continued.

Based on the “limited evidence” she and county employees have seen of the party last weekend, Herr said, it is premature to conclude if a code violation actually took place.

She stated, “More evidence keeps coming forward and this is an ongoing investigation.” “We have two days off.”

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Sheriff Dennis Lemma stated at a press conference on Monday about the incident that he thought Cabana Live had most likely held the event illegally based on his interactions with county officials.

Lemma stated, “I believe there is a purpose for having a permitting process.” It provides an impartial eye. I am aware that laws are put in place for a cause. And I believe that regulations must be adhered to.

Seminole is the owner of the land used by the Port Authority, a special district located in the northwest of the county, close to the Volusia County boundary, that was established by the Florida Legislature many years ago. The County Commission chooses the members of the authority’s board.

Marinas LLC was prohibited from hosting special events by its lease agreement with the Port Authority. The manager of the business and the recipient of the Port Authority letter, Joseph Pozo, did not answer calls seeking comment.

According to state records, Cabana Live launched in 2023 and is registered to Alexandra Horrocks of Sanford. Horrocks did not respond to requests for comment either.

A state statute mandates that a business renter must wait the 45 days specified in the Port Authority’s letter before they can be evicted.

The “Nobody Leaves Sober” pool party event on Sunday morning resulted in a confrontation that led to the shooting. The crowd of more than 200 people was allegedly shot by a 16-year-old, whose identity the Orlando Sentinel is withholding due to his age. A second man shot back.

After that, a security guard tackled the boy. The teenager faces other gun-related offenses in addition to attempted murder and shooting a weapon in public.

Wide receiver for the Houston Texans Tank Dell, a 24-year-old resident of Daytona Beach, was among those injured in the incident. He has some minor wounds.

Seminole deputy sheriffs have responded to calls for service at Cabana Live 85 times since March 2023, per a spreadsheet that is attached to the Port Authority’s letter to Marinas LLC.

According to a Sheriff’s Office investigation, the most serious incident happened just after one in the morning on March 17 when two males in a car fired three rounds at security guards observing the Cabana Live parking lot. The incident did not result in any injuries.

A complaint of a person who was beaten in January of last year fights that happened in September and January, and eight disturbances that happened between July 2023 and March of last year are also included in the spreadsheet.