It will become impossible to become drunk at a bar.
Bartenders beware.
Posted on 05/19/2018 11:59:56 AM PDT by Drew68
Natalia Ortiz was arrested at work Wednesday and appeared to have no idea that one of her customers two years ago killed a teenager after leaving her service.
HOUSTON -- A bartender, who investigators say served the man convicted in the fatal DUI crash of Jocelyn Valero, was arrested Wednesday.
On May 15, 2016, Valero was on her way home from prom when Edin Palacios-Rodas, who was driving drunk and fleeing from police, crashed into the car she was in and killed her.
In April, Palacios-Rodas was convicted of murder and sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Sean Teare, Chief of the Harris County District Attorney Vehicular Crimes Division, says before the crash, Rodas was drinking at El Muelle Seafood restaurant in north Houston and was over-served by Natalia Ortiz.
“We observed him being served between 11 and 12 beers in about 2-and-a-half hours,” Teare explained.
Teare said Palacios-Rodas was so drunk, he had a hard time standing.
Ortiz was arrested at work Wednesday and appeared to have no idea one of her customers two years ago killed a teenager after leaving her service.
While Ortiz was in the back of a patrol car, KHOU 11 News reporter Lauren Talarico asked Ortiz if she had anything to say to the Valero family.
“Who is the Valero family?” Ortiz asked. “I don’t understand anything. What is happening?”
The DA’s Office says Wednesday’s arrest is just the start of a long line of ones to come as they investigate older crash cases.
“We are going to hold everyone responsible that had anything to do with these crashes going forward,” Teare said.
Ortiz’s arrest is not just a warning to the service industry but to everyone.
(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...
and fleeing from police,
so, cops will be at the dock in this as well?
This is going to be a real problem. I can only imagine all the rules and regs that bar owners will force themselves to do to avoid prosecution.
This could mean anyone leaving a bar gets in any accident and the server or bar will be arrested.
This is absolutely the wrong approach. If this bartender is in trouble, then the police should be in equal trouble.
I disagree with this. What about the guy that gets a snootful BEFORE coming to your bar, has one drink, then leaves and takes out a family going to Disney? (that really happened)? Do you blame the bartender who was unaware that the guy was drinking elsewhere and was able to hold it better?
This is a terrible idea..
Pure harassment. If bar owners file a class action for civil rights violations, this could cost the city’s taxpayers a lot of money.
Making a person responsible for the behavior of another person is a slippery slope. I can see being responsible for someone entrusted to your care who is incapable of decision making on the basis of mental retardation, psychosis, or the like. But here, the perp presumably entered the evening competent to conduct his own affairs and through his own actions became impaired. I can kind of see the logic but I don’t know ...
Good point. I was wondering the same.
On the other hand, can you imagine being a young professional, a couple years out of college, and getting arrested in your cubicle for over-serving a patron two years earlier?
More threats to the population in an attempt to achieve “safety” will only result in more problems. The more the govt “gets tough” the worse things get.
Short jump from here, to holding gun store owners/makers to blame for gun deaths.
Might be some others, government employees that is, who should be traced down if the DA wants to really get to those responsible
Agree that defense attorney will try to shift blame to the police for chasing the drunk. Further, they will cite communities having a “no chase” policy and probably have statistics showing it is a far safer policy. Local D.A. has opened a real can of worms with this prosecution.
What make of car was he driving? Are they going to arrest the assembly line guys who built it?
The Chief of Police in EVERY CITY soon to Be Arrested for MURDER for every wrongful death at the hands of their Police Officers,???
It will become impossible to become drunk at a bar.
Bartenders beware.
“We observed him being served between 11 and 12 beers in about 2-and-a-half hours,” Teare explained.
They "oberved him"? He was being watched? Why didn't they arrest him as soon as he pulled out of the bar? Why didn't they step in and tell him he was too drunk to drive before he got in his car?
I hope the defense attorney goes for a jury trial and asks these questions of the cops.
Wait a Minute, he used a CAR that ran on Gasoline, is Mobil and Shell being Indicted as Accessories?? What about All the Refineries in Texas and the Employees that Contributed to this death?? What about the Kennedy Family that collected the TAX on the Booze Sold at the Bar?
This is insane.
Has to be from surveillance video at the bar, I imagine.
We are becoming a surveillance society, where everything will be observed and recorded forever.
If we do not push very hard, the data will only be available to the government to use to increase and exercise power over everyone else, and to insure that they stay in power.
Government never gets smaller. It arrogates power unto itself and finds a way to levy more and more fines and imprison more and more people.
The second you make an exception to “will not compromise liberty for safety,” you send another soul to the care and feeding too the government, and ten more souls to the slammer.
I agree. It is a serious problem.
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