Store clerk pleads guilty
Rocky Mountain News
Published May 14, 2008 at 11 p.m.
Pham faces jail time and $5,000 fine on each of 10 counts.
A liquor store clerk pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to selling booze to teenagers later involved in a fatal car crash on Green Mountain in March 2007.
Van Thien Pham, 45, pleaded guilty in a Jefferson County court hearing to 10 misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to a minor.
The March 13, 2007, crash took the life of Samara Stricklen and seriously injured Seth Mutschler, 20.
According to court documents, Nanette LaFleur, then 16, drank vodka and beer and smoked marijuana with friends. An underage friend bought the vodka at Alameda Square Discount Liquors at 12792 W. Alameda Parkway.
Pham was the clerk who sold it.
Later that evening, LaFleur took the wheel of a friend's Ford Explorer and crashed head-on into a Honda Accord driven by Mutschler.
Pham is scheduled to be sentenced July 2. He faces up to 18 months in jail and a fine of $5,000 on each count.
LaFleur pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and drunken driving later in the day.
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May 15, 2008
2:08 a.m.
Suggest removal
happymike44 writes:
I have been the clerk in the sre when underage drinkers try to buy booze.When they don't get it ,they will threaten the clerk with calling the home office and complaining about the clerk.I worked one place and these young guys called and told my boss I was rude to them.I got the write up for being rude.What was fair about this to me or anyone else who works in retail.I think we need a law to allow us the clerk to call and report the license plate to the cops.Why so they can stop them from killing themselves.Also to call the owner of the car.So that they know what is going on with the car.This might ake up the parents to what is going on.Also create a record of the underage person's activities.So later if needed in court it can be used as proof of their misdeeds.This might stop these idiots and demon spawn from killing someone.
May 15, 2008
12:33 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
happymike44,
So why do we "need a law to allow the clerk to call and report..."? Just do it! Or am I missing something here? I agree that if these snots want to try and buy booze, then they should be reported to the cops.
Scott