Five Points bar reaches $975,000 settlement in suit
Jake’s Bar and Grill reached a $975,000 settlement in a lawsuit after footage from video cameras showed a young man being served in the establishment then later hitting and killing a pedestrian in Five Points.
Justin Timmerman, 24, was hit by a SUV, driven by 24-year-old William Holt Carlen, while crossing Harden Street in Five Points May 5, The State reported.
Timmerman’s father brought the lawsuit against the bar, claiming the bar had overserved Carlen, whose blood-alcohol content was .20, more than twice as much as the .08 legal limit for driving.
Dick Harpootlian, attorney for Timmerman’s father, learned while investigating the case that Jake’s had 16 cameras recording footage of its customers and told The State the video evidence was “a tremendous help in this case.”
A February court date is scheduled for Carlen, who is facing the criminal charge of felony DUI.
— Compiled by Austin Price, Assistant Design Director
Juvenile facing charges for alleged car theft
A 14-year-old crashed a stolen car in the early hours of Wednesday morning, revealing himself as serial car thief, WLTX reported.
Sheriff Leon Lott told WLTX that officers received a call concerning an auto-tampering at Longcreek Drive at around 3 a.m. When the officers arrived, the two suspects fled the scene of the break-in in a stolen black Honda Accord. In pursuit, the Honda crashed, where the 14-year-old was arrested. The second suspect escaped.
The juvenile is responsible for at least 10 car break-ins and thefts, Lott told WLTX. He is charged with two counts of grand larceny, two counts of theft and failure to stop for blue lights.
—Compiled by Andersen Cook, Copy Desk Chief
West Columbia taco shop profiting from 'racist' shirts
A West Columbia taco shop is cooking up controversy — and business — after pictures of what some have called “racist” T-shirts in their store went viral. Since the shirts were featured on The New York Times, CBS News and websites like the Huffington Post, Taco Cid has sold 400 of the shirts, at nearly $40 apiece, that read “How to catch an illegal immigrant” over an animal trap with a taco underneath.
Owner Leanne Snelgrove told The State that one of the largest groups that purchased the shirts were border patrol agents in Texas.
The shirts have also drawn protesters to the restaurant for nearly a week, The State reports.
—Compiled by Amanda Coyne, Assistant News Editor