State officials make moves to take away bar's permit after fatal crash

By Azura Domschke
Journal and Courier - 7/29/99

The Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) is seeking to revoke a local bar's liquor license for allegedly serving alcohol to a Lafayette man tied to a triple fatal automobile wreck last March on County Road 350 South.

The Mirage, 3215 S. 18th St., has been unable to serve alcohol since its liquor license expired on Sunday, and has filed for an extension. But ABC's chief prosecutor Frederick Bauer is seeking the revocation of The Mirage's three-way alcohol retailer's permit, which allows for sale of liquor, beer and wine.

"The premises was cited for serving an intoxicated person, per the bartender. That's the basis for the citation. That's the basis for the recommendation that the license for the premises and bartender be revoked," Bauer said Wednesday.

And because of that investigation and the pending civil lawsuit, the commission denied the Mirage's permit extension filed Friday by bar owner Roger L. Heer, said John Hanley, chairman of the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

"Given that the prosecutor's pursuing that, we felt that an opportunity to extend the permit would be sending mixed messages from the office."

The Mirage and bartender James Irwin are named in the wrongful death lawsuit by the parents of Earl E. "Chip" Smith III, 20, of Riverton, Ill., and Sarah B. Towery, 24, of Auburn, Ill. Smith and Towery were killed in the March 21 collision on County Road 350 South. Jeffrey A. Pedone Trout, 39, was also killed.

Police say Trout had been drinking at The Mirage in the hours before the accident and had a blood alcohol level of 0.27 percent, more than 2 1/2 times Indiana's legal limit of 0.10. Toxicology reports from the Tippecanoe County coroner's office also showed traces of cocaine metabolites in Trout's blood at the time of the accident.

In court documents, the Indiana State Excise Police say videotape surveillance of the bar shows Irwin, 54, serving Trout 10 drinks in 2 1/2 hours. Irwin is being sued by the state of Indiana for sale of alcohol to an intoxicated person, a Class B misdemeanor.

Bauer said the videotape provides enough evidence for a revocation investigation by the ABC. "Quite often, the evidence is not available. In this case, it is available," he said.

Sale of alcohol to an intoxicated person is "probably one of the most serious violations," Bauer said. "In this case, what happened here, someone can get hurt or killed. It's the logical result of someone driving while intoxicated."

Heer did not respond to repeated attempts to comment for this story.

Hanley explained that when a business seeks an alcoholic beverages permit, it files the paperwork with the ABC and then places an ad in the newspaper for a public hearing.

In this case, that hearing would be before the Tippecanoe County Alcoholic Beverage Board, which often takes a few months to schedule, Hanley said. Most businesses seeking a renewal file several months in advance of a permit's expiration so their operations aren't affected.

In The Mirage's case, "it will probably be September before it goes in front of the board there. Once it's heard by the board there, it goes to the commission for consideration."

According to The Mirage's paperwork filed with the ABC, liquor is the decade-old business' lifeblood, accounting for more than 80 percent of its annual sales. In 1998, liquor sales totaled $508,433, with revenue from food coming in at $104,385.

Dan Towery, Sarah Towery's father, declined to comment on the pending wrongful death lawsuit but said The Mirage needs to take responsibility for its employees' actions.

"All we're talking about is accountability. Go out and take a picture of the crosses on (County Road) 350 South. People need to be accountable for their actions."

FUTURE COULD BE THREATENED: The Mirage, at 3215 S. 18th St., could lose its alcohol retailers' permit if a motion filed with the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission is approved. By Tom Leininger/Journal and Courier