Man hurt in suburban club shooting suing alleged gunman, owners

A man who was wounded in a south suburban Blue Island nightclub shooting last year has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the club, a promoter and the accused gunman.

Officers responded to a call of shots fired about 1 a.m. April 11, 2016 at the Premium 127 Club at 1859 W. 127th Street, according to a statement from Blue Island police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The shooting killed Michael Goldsmith, 27, of Chicago, and wounded another man.

Anthony D. Timberlake, 21, was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a handgun and felony mob action for the shooting, Cook County court records show.

Henry Bays, who was wounded in the shooting, is seeking more than $150,000 in a three-count suit filed on Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.

The shooting happened because the club allowed a then-underage Timberlake to become intoxicated at the bar and then asked him to leave when he “became loud, boisterous and eventually violent,” according to the suit. Timberlake later returned to the club and fired shots inside, at least one of which struck Bays.

Bays is seeking at least $50,000 in damages for battery from Timberlake for shooting him. Additionally, Bays seeks more than $100,000 from the club’s owners and a promoter for allowing Timberlake to drink and become intoxicated at the club, and for not providing adequate security.

Timberlake remains held on $1.5 million bail at Cook County Jail, sheriff’s office records show. He was expected to next appear in court on March 31.

A representative for Premium 127 could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday night.