2 Colorado liquor store merchants sentenced for providing alcohol to someone visibly intoxicated before a deadly crash

Vehicle occupied by victims Nichole Gough (driver), and Benjamin Mitton (passenger), after the crash.(5th District Attorney's Office)

 BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (KKTV) - Two liquor store merchants are paying the price for their role in a deadly crash in 2019.

The Office of the District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District in Colorado publicly announced the sentences for 26-year-old Cody Moral and 28-year-old Avran Lefeber on Friday. Both people were sentenced on Tuesday for providing alcohol to someone visibly intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

On Aug. 30, 2019, both Moral and Lefeber were running the register at the Breckenridge Market and Liquor Store. The DA’s office is reporting they sold Lindsey Ward some beer and tequila. Ward got behind the wheel of a car and caused a crash that claimed the lives of Benjamin Mitton and Nichole Gough.

“Defendant Ward admitted to drinking the day of the fatal crash at the Breckenridge Golf Course, and video surveillance there showed Ward consuming mixed drinks earlier in the afternoon up to an hour before driving, including liquor shots and a beer,” a release from the District Attorney’s Office reads. “After leaving the golf course, she drove to the Breckenridge Market & Liquor Store, and appeared ‘tired’ to Moral and Lefeber at checkout. The men offered her a ride home, but Ward refused.”

Following the crash, the blood alcohol level for Ward was measured at .29, well over the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Colorado of .08.

“Although Ms. Ward did not consume the alcohol she bought from Moral and Lefeber, they knew she didn’t appear normal and had a duty to not sell to her at that time,” said Stephanie Cava, Deputy 5 th Judicial District Attorney.

Summit County Judge Edward Casias chose the sentence of $800.00 in Court costs and fines, that Moral and Lefeber must both complete a TIPS (Training For Intervention Procedures) class, and write an apology letter to the victims’ families.

Copyright 2020 KKTV. All rights reserved.

From: https://www.kktv.com/2020/12/25/2-colorado-liquor-store-merchants-sentenced-for-providing-alcohol-to-someone-visibly-intoxicated-before-a-deadly-crash/

For once, the people peddling booze are held responsible for their actions.