Man slain inside Happy Place Sports Bar had previously been shot there

Orange County deputies ID victim as Adrian Peralta

ORLANDO, Fla. – A man was shot and killed early Monday inside the Happy Place Sports Bar in Orange County, according to deputies.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said Adrian Peralta, 24, died in the shooting, which was reported at 5:41 a.m. at 7400 Southland Blvd. near Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando.

According to officials, deputies were called to the bar for an aggravated battery and shooting, and Peralta was pronounced dead by Orange County Fire Rescue officials.

Dieulus Fields is opening a restaurant in the same plaza as the Happy Place Sports Bar here in Orange County. He said the recent crime there is frustrating. 

"What about the customers, what about the people out here, something like that has to be stopped or shut down?" said Fields. "If people are afraid to come to my business, how am I going to grow to pay the bills, pay the rent?" 

Sheriff's office officials said investigators are reviewing surveillance video, and an investigation is ongoing.

Peralta's sister, Adarmari Peralta, was arrested at the scene on a charge of resisting an officer without violence.

Peralta's death marks the second fatal shooting at the bar since July. Deputies said Peralta was one of four people wounded in that shooting.

Another person was injured last month in a shooting at the bar.

A judge earlier this month denied a motion to evict the owners of the Happy Place Sports Bar. The plaintiff, 303 E 33 Street LLC, based in New York, claimed that the bar owners were behind on their rent payment.

Property owners have been trying to evict the renters at the Happy Place Bar after what they call several unpaid and late rent payments, and also because of recent crime. But a judge denied their request this month, allowing the bar to make future rent payments through the courts.

Monday, we asked an Orange County sheriff’s office spokeswoman if the sheriff's office can shut the bar down. She said no, because homicides don’t fall under their criteria for nuisance closures, yet she told us they're always reviewing their policies to see what can be changed. 

"There are several steps, like you stated, that need to be looked into, and of course the courts are looking into everything just like us, but our main goal is conducting the investigation and finding who did this," said OCSO spokeswoman Ingrid Tejada-Monforte. 

​News 6 reached out to the attorneys for the bar and have not heard back. 


About the Author:

Daniel started with WKMG-TV in 2000 and became the digital content manager in 2009. When he's not working on ClickOrlando.com, Daniel likes to head to the beach or find a sporting event nearby.

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