Fights, gun fired, disturbances: Seminole’s Cabana Live had checkered history before weekend shooting

Deputies with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office have been called to Cabana Live, a restaurant and bar on the St. Johns River, dozens of times over the past year — including for a gun being fired, fights breaking out, someone being battered, and large numbers of cars flooding the parking lot, according to reports obtained Tuesday.

But it wasn’t until a weekend shooting injured 10 people — including an NFL player — during a seemingly illegal pool party that Seminole County decided to take action.

County officials had failed to warn Cabana Live previously even though the club had for months promoted events on its website and held gatherings until the early morning hours, likely without obtaining the proper permits.

That finally changed Monday. In a sternly worded letter, the Seminole County Port Authority — landlord for the facility — warned Marinas LLC, the Orlando company that subleased its space to Cabana Live, that it was in violation of its lease agreement and has 45 days to put an end to any future events and correct any other violations.

Otherwise, the port authority said, it would evict Marinas LLC from its spot on Carraway Place.

“The parties have been so large that the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has reported that vehicles are overflowing the parking lot,” said the letter from Matthew Criswell, the authority’s chair. “Additionally, the nighttime operations that result in fights, shootings and other illegal activities constitute a nuisance [according to state law]…There may be a host of other regulations that are violated by virtue of these activities.”

Still, the newly revealed information raises questions about why no one took a closer look at Cabana Live’s activities prior to the weekend shooting — and whether firmer action is needed to head off future incidents.

In a Tuesday afternoon press release, an authority spokesman said the earlier events were held “unbeknownst to the Port Authority” and that it had been assured by the marina operator that “late-night events will no longer take place.”

County officials said Tuesday they are still investigating whether the events held by Cabana Live required special events permits based on whether they exceeded the building’s occupancy limits. But they said that Seminole currently has no plans to issue citations for any code violations.

“Code enforcement officers have to observe violations in order to issue citations,” said Andy Wontor, a county spokesperson. “They cannot issue citations retroactively by word of mouth.”

Seminole Commissioner Andria Herr, who sits on the Port Authority board, said the county may need to go further. She suggested taking a hard look at the county’s permitting process and regulations pertaining to special events, including whether security should be required. Currently, Seminole does not require security when issuing permits for special events, although the weekend event at Cabana Live reportedly had ten security guards.

“I can tell you that as a board member, I am highly displeased,” she said regarding the large number of calls to the Sheriff’s Office to Cabana Live before a notice was sent to the property owners. “We’re absolutely going to get to the bottom of it….But it could very well be that they [Port Authority staff] weren’t aware of it. I know I wasn’t aware of it.”

She added the Port Authority “has the grip to get this to stop and they’ve taken the initial step to get this straightened out.”

But Herr said it’s too early to determine whether a code violation actually occurred based on the “limited evidence” she and county staff have seen of last weekend’s party.

“This is an ongoing investigation and more evidence continues to come forward,” she said. “We’re two days out.”

On Monday, Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in a press conference regarding the shooting that he believed, based on his conversations with county officials, that Cabana Live likely held the event illegally.

“I think that having a permitting process is there for a reason,” Lemma said. “It gives an independent eye…I know that there are rules established for a reason. And I think that rules need to be followed.”

Seminole owns the land occupied by the Port Authority, a special district created by the Florida Legislature decades ago and operating in the county’s northwest side near the Volusia County line. The authority’s board members are selected by the County Commission.

According to its lease agreement with the Port Authority, Marinas LLC was not allowed to hold special events. Joseph Pozo, who is listed as the company’s manager and the recipient of the Port Authority’s letter, did not return calls for comment.

Cabana Live opened in 2023 and is registered to Alexandra Horrocks of Sanford, according to state records. Horrocks also did not return calls for comment.

The 45-day time frame mentioned in the Port Authority’s letter is required by state statute before eviction of a business tenant can take place.

The shooting occurred after a fight broke out early Sunday at an event dubbed the “Nobody Leaves Sober” pool party. Authorities said a 16-year-old, whom the Orlando Sentinel is not naming because of his age, sprayed bullets into the crowd of over 200 people. Another man returned fire.

A security guard then tackled the boy. The teen is charged with attempted homicide, firing a weapon in public, and other gun charges.

One of those hurt in the shooting was Tank Dell, a 24-year-old Daytona Beach native and wide receiver for the Houston Texans. He sustained minor injuries.

According to a spreadsheet attached to the Port Authority’s letter to Marinas LLC, Seminole deputy sheriffs have responded 85 times to calls for service at Cabana Live since March 2023.

In the most serious incident, occurring just after 1 a.m. on March 17, two men in a car fired three shots at security guards patrolling the parking lot at Cabana Live, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. No one was injured in that shooting.

The spreadsheet also includes a report of a person being battered last January; fights in September and January; and eight disturbances, occurring between July 2023 and last March.