Family files lawsuit after shooting victim's body found in van 49 days after vehicle impounded

The city of Memphis and Police Director Michael Rallings have been named in a lawsuit after a body was found in an impound lot.

The family of a shooting victim whose body was found in a police impound lot more than a month after the crime has filed a lawsuit against the city and police, reports said Thursday.

The body of Bardomiano Perez Hernandez, 33, was found inside a van Feb. 5, after the vehicle's owner -- who was shot in the same incident -- went to recover the van after getting out of a hospital, the Commercial Appeal reported.

Named as defendants in the Shelby County Circuit Court lawsuit were the city of Memphis, Police Director Michael Rallings and others identified as "John Does 1-20," the report said.

On Dec. 18, the two shooting victims and a third man were inside the van drinking beer after construction work when three suspects tried to rob them and fired shots, FOX 13 Memphis reported. The third man inside the van was not hurt, police said.

Hernandez, in the back of the van, was somehow overlooked when the vehicle was later towed, the Commercial Appeal reported. An autopsy showed he had a gunshot wound to the torso that damaged his organs.

Lawyers for the family said Hernandez might have survived had he been given prompt medical care, according to the newspaper.

The plaintiffs claim the defendants "negligently and/or recklessly" failed to investigate and document a crime scene, among other allegations, according to FOX 13.

"I want the people to know that he's a good person. ... He's a good dad. He's responsible. He's just a nice person. He wouldn't harm nobody at all." 

— Maris Morales, common-law wife of the victim

"I want the people to know that he's a good person," Maris Morales, the common-law wife of the victim, told the paper. "He's a good dad. He's responsible. He's just a nice person. He wouldn't harm nobody at all."

Hernandez left behind four daughters.

Suspects Mardracus West, 19, and Earl Brown, 21, face charges including first-degree murder and attempted robbery, the Commercial Appeal reported in July.

Earl Brown, left, and Mardracus West are suspected of attempted robbery and murder in the death of Bardomiano Perez Hernandez.  (Shelby County Sheriff's Office)