Izzy's Becomes Defendant In Deadly Bar Shooting Lawsuit

JOLIET, IL -In April, Joliet attorney Frank Cservenyak filed a civil lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse against Patrick Gleason, the 56-year-old Crest Hill man accused of entering Izzy's Bar on Theodore Street to kill bartender Danny Rios. During a struggle over the gun, the bar owner's son, Tommy Izquierdo, also got shot the stomach. Izquierdo was gravely wounded at the time, but he has made a miraculous recovery over the past several months.

In recent days, the law firm of Rathbun, Cservenyak and Kozol has filed an amended lawsuit complaint, adding Izzy's LLC as a co-defendant to their client's lawsuiti. The updated complaint alleges that the March 9 shootings were preventable had Izzy's Bar taken proper security precautions.

The plaintiff's lawyer recently told Joliet Patch that the amended lawsuit essentially compels the insurance liability carrier for Izzy's to become involved in the court case.

The lawsuit states that Izquierdo "was lawfully upon the premises ... on or about March 9, 2018, Gleason entered Izzy's with a firearm and shot and killed the bartender, Daniel Rios III, and also wounded plaintiff Thomas Izquierdo."

The civil lawsuit makes it clear Gleason is the killer. The defendant remains in the Will County Jail, facing 10 felony charges. He's being held on a $10 million bail. His criminal case remains in the pretrial stages.

"Izzy's internal security camera captured the series of events at issue," the lawsuit states. "The video showed Gleason in the interior hallway of Izzy's as he adjusted his mask, he secured his firearm and planned to open fire.

"The video also showed Gleason entering the bar and opening fire on Izzy's patrons and employees."

The lawsuit also sheds light on Gleason's apparent motives for entering Izzy's with a loaded gun, ready to kill.

"Gleason had been expelled from Izzy's on several occasions prior to March 9, 2018 and had been instructed not to return," the civil lawsuit states. "Based on Gleason's past behavior at the bar, Izzy's, the bar owners and or managers knew, or should have known, that Gleason was dangerous and that he posed a serious threat to its employees and patrons."

The lawsuit blames Izzy's Bar for having "failed to train its employees to identify a threatening and dangerous situation and (having) failed to warn its patrons of known threats."

The lawsuit alleges the staff at Izzy's Bar should have realized that a banned customer such as Gleason posed a danger to everybody, and yet it was business as usual at the bar on the night of March 8.

"Izzy's failed to have any trained security agent on the premises during working business hours to afford protection for its employees and patrons," attorney Cservanyak argues.

RELATED: Izzy's Murder Defendant Gets $10 Million Bail

File images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor