South MS man beaten and left to die outside bar, lawsuit says. Nobody helped
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Daughter files wrongful-death suit alleging Hammac beat father and left him.
- Daughter also names bar and property owners for failing to supervise premises.
- Hammac denies wrongdoing, claims self-defense; case remains under investigation.
The daughter of a Bay St. Louis man who got into a bar fight claims he was propped up on the porch and left for dead.
Destiny Garcia of Bay St. Louis has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her father, Stanley Anthony Garcia, who died at age 51 after the bar fight.
She is suing Robert James Hammac of Kiln, who she claims beat her father to death, and the now-defunct K&R’s Pub & Lounge. The bar opened less than three months before the brawl on U.S. 90 in Hancock County.
She is also suing the property owner, Michael Cuevas Jr. of Georgia, and the bar’s co-owner with Hammac, Kerry Jorge Hawes of Kiln.
Garcia’s attorney, David Baria of Bay St. Louis, filed the lawsuit in Hancock County Cricuit Court Hammac denies any wrongdoing, claiming self-defense. Cuevas is asking that he be dismissed from the lawsuit, claiming he wasn’t properly served with the paperwork.
Her lawsuit claims Hammac had a history of violent behavior and viciously assaulted her father. Hammac, then 53, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in August 2024 but has not been indicted by a grand jury. Instead, the case is still under investigation.
“In the immediate aftermath of the assault,” the lawsuit says, “rather than contact law enforcement or seek emergency medical personnel to render life-saving aid, Hammac moved Mr. Garcia outside of the establishment and, in complete disregard for his health and safety, placed his unconscious body upright in a chair on the porch in an attempt to disguise the violent nature of the assault and seriousness of his injuries.”
Fight breaks out in Hancock County bar
Destiny Garcia claims her father died before law enforcement officers arrived at the bar. However, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said after arresting Hammac that Garcia was rushed to a Louisiana hospital and died there.
In her lawsuit, Garcia seeks unspecified damages to compensate for medical and funeral expenses, pain and suffering, her father’s lost wages and loss of companionship. She also wants unspecified punitive damages. She blames property owner Cuevas for failing to adequately supervise the property and co-owner Hawes for failing to contact law enforcement or emergency medical personnel.
The lawsuit portrays Hammac, who moved to Hancock County from Florida, as having a history of “violent behavior” that others knew about.
But Hammac’s attorney said he is the victim. “Now they want to charge him with murder,” said attorney Donald Rafferty of Pass Christian. “That’s a crock.”
Rafferty said that Stanley Garcia was drunk and was the aggressor. “My client was sober,” he said. “My client was cleaning the bar.”
Rafferty said that Garcia got into a fight with a woman who was beating him at pool and smacked her. Hammac intervened and there was a fight, with Hammac eventually escorting Garcia from the bar, Rafferty said.
A response filed on behalf of Hammac and Hawes says that Garcia was responsible for his own death.
