'You discarded her like garbage': Club owner SPARED jail after woman fell to her death off his boat and he failed to called 911 for 39 minutes
- Russell Bruce, 47, was sentenced to four years probation after pleading no contest to manslaughter
- Lauren Lamar, then 26, fell off of Bruce's 30-foot-long boat May 25, 2015
- Bruce did not report her missing for 39 minutes once he returned to the marina
A Miami nightclub owner who was charged with manslaughter after he failed to promptly report a woman missing from his boat was sentenced to four years probation on Friday.
Prosecutors could not prove that Lauren Lamar, then 26, would still be alive if Russell Bruce, 47, had called 911 as soon as he noticed she was missing instead of waiting 39 minutes. Bruce pleaded no contest to manslaughter.
Russell Bruce (left, pictured in court Friday), 47, pleaded no contest to manslaughter after waiting to call 911 when Lauren Lamar went missing from his boat. He was aboard with Lamar and Alicia Bartolotta (right, mughshot) who is also facing manslaughter charges
Russell Bruce was sentenced to four years probabtion after he took 39 minutes to report Lauren Lamar (pictured) missing from his boat
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Lamar was one of two passengers aboard the relatively small 30-foot-long boat with Bruce and Alicia Bartolotta the night of May 25, 2015. Lamar was a nightclub promoter from Atlanta, Georgia.
The Miami Herald reports Bruce said he thought Lamar was sleeping below deck and did not assume she fell overboard.
He didn't call for 39 minutes once they returned to the marina and apparently poured himself a drink with vodka beforehand. He started heading to shore around 11pm, docked at 11.09pm and finally reported her missing at 11.48pm.
Lauren Lamar's parents Anthony and Rebecca Lamar cry at Russell Bruce's sentencing
Russell Bruce waited 39 minutes when he returned to the marina to report Lauren Lamar (pictured) missing
Lauren Lamar's cause of death was not determined but there was no sign that she was pushed overboard the boat. Russell Bruce pleaded no contest to manslaughter
While turned towards the judge, Bruce apologized to Lamar's family Friday. The family approved the plea deal because of the lack of evidence.
Lamar's father, Anthony Lama, rejected the seemingly half-hearted apology saying: 'If you really was sorry, you would've did that two years ago. Be a man.'
Lamar's family is suing Bruce for wrongful death. Friday, her mother Rebecca Lamar told reporters Bruce 'discarded her [daughter] like garbage.'
Lamar's body was found floating face down almost 36 hours later. There was no signs of struggle to indicate she had been pushed off of the boat and her cause of death was not determined.
Alicia Bartolotta is also charged with manslaughter and rejected a plea deal. She told police she blacked out at one point and didn't know exactly what happened.
Bruce co-owned Steam in Miami, an interactive nightclub that he told the Miami New Times 'embraced all fetishes'. He also owned a speakeasy called Railroad Blues. Both establishments are now closed.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4371124/Miami-club-owner-pleads-no-contest-manslaughter.html#ixzz4d3wIWlDE
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