Murdered Diego Martin casino owner saved relatives

A casino owner is being hailed as a hero for warning his brother-in-law and another relative of a robbery before he was shot dead at his Diego Martin businessplace on Tuesday night.

Police said Lucius John, 35, was at LA's Amusement Club, on the Diego Martin Main Road, at around 7 pm when two bandits came in.

John, who was facing the door, saw them approaching and yelled at his relatives to run away.

The bandits shot him and escaped.

Members of the Western Division Emergency Response Patrol went to the scene with a district medical officer who declared him dead.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Wednesday, one of John's relatives said he sacrificed his life by raising an alarm.

"Two more of my family members would have been dead this morning if it weren't for Lucius. That was the kind of man he was.

"He was the first to see the gunmen, and he warned them to run. One of the relatives at the casino was playing a game on his cellphone, so he wasn't paying attention to what was going on, and the other one was just there."

Relatives said John opened the casino two weeks ago ,and had dreams of developing it into a franchise.

One relative said John did not have any enemies and lamented that he was killed because of jealousy over his business.

She also said while she was hurt by John's murder, she left vengeance in the hands of God and warned that in time his killers would be punished.

"What did they kill him for? For nothing. They didn't even get anything. A few weeks earlier there was a robbery at another casino nearby, and now this came and happened.

"That person got all of Lucius' sins. God will deal with him."

Relatives said John had a 13-year-old son from a past relationship who was devastated by his father's murder.

Investigators from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations are continuing enquiries.