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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-28 Euless Articles The First Texas Outpost Of Bojangles Will Open This Spring By Melissa Locker | Published on February 15, 2023 Hold on to your Bo-Berry Biscuits, because Bojangles has just announced its first Texas location is opening this spring! News broke way back in 2021, that Bojangles was expanding its chicken empire to Texas and now the popular fried chicken and biscuit chain has made it official. The first Texas location will open this spring in Euless, Texas, a company spokesperson confirmed to the Fort W orth Star Telegram. Euless is just about halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, so folks in both spots can get their fill of breakfast sandwiches, Bo's Chicken Sandwiches, pimento cheese-covered pork chop griller biscuits, and, if they’re lucky, fish sandwiches and those delicious Bo-Berry Biscuits, too. Bojangles has plans bigger than the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company is angling to open 21 new Bojangles outposts across the Lone Star State and already has a second Texas location planned to open later this spring in Frisco. The 45-year old Southern staple isn’t stopping there. Previously, Bojangles announced that they have plans to open their outposts in New York and add more locations in Pennsylvania and Florida, too. There isn’t an announced timeline for those spots to start serving up biscuits and chicken, so until then head to North Carolina, or come spring, Euless. Bartender served 8 mixed drinks to man who soon crashed, killed Euless detective: warrant BY DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 1:09PM UPDATED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 1:25 PM On Nov. 27, 2021, bartender Cala Richardson served eight double vodka cocktails to Dylan Molina in less than three hours at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Lake Worth, according to police. Richardson, 26, of Sansom Park, ignored signs that Molina was intoxicated and she didn’t keep him from leaving and driving away, police said a newly released video shows. Molina later crashed his vehicle into the car of Euless police Detective Alex Cervantes, killing him and severely injuring his wife and two children, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released this week by Lake Worth police. Richardson surrendered to authorities in Parker County earlier this month after a warrant was issued for her in the 2021 case. She is charged with one count of sale to certain persons, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail including a $4,000 fine if convicted. Molina was indicted in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. He was sentenced to 15 years on the manslaughter charge and 10 years each on assaults. The sentences will be served concurrently. The security video from inside Fuzzy’s first shows Molina walk through a door behind the bar from an area that was supposed to be restricted to only employees. Richardson spots Molina behind the bar and gestures for him to go back to his seat. Molina stumbles, and Richardson helps him to his feet, the surveillance video shows. He then goes back to the customer side of the bar while Richardson walks through the door behind the bar. Seconds later, Molina leaves his drink on the bar and walks to the parking lot. Minutes later, he crashed his car into the Cervantes family’s vehicle at the intersection of Boat Club Road and Rocky Point Trail. The video shows Richardson came back to the bar area and saw Molina was gone. She looked into the parking lot and then removed his last drink from the bar. The warrant written by Lake Worth Detective R. Urbanek provided these details: Molina arrived at Fuzzy’s at 10:37 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2021, and stayed there about two hours and 50 minutes. Here’s the breakdown on the beverages he drink which were vodka/Redbull mixed drinks served in pint-sized glassware: ▪ 10:40 a.m., first drink, 16 minutes ▪ 10:56 a.m., second drink, 20 minutes ▪ 11:16 a.m., third drink, 23 minutes ▪ 11:39 a.m., fourth drink, 24 minutes ▪ 12:03 p.m., fifth drink, 29 minutes ▪ 12:32 p.m., sixth drink, 22 minutes ▪ 12:54 p.m., seventh drink, 18 minutes ▪ 1:12 p.m., eighth drink Molina started his 2021 Jeep Wrangler at 1:30 p.m. and left the taco shop, 6010 Azle Ave. in Lake Worth. Molina ran a red light and hit a 2013 Chevrolet Impala, killing the Euless detective and injuring his family. He ran away from the scene, but he was caught by witnesses. Police used a search warrant to obtain the digital video recording device and paperwork from Molina’s purchases at Fuzzy’s. Detectives determined that Molina approached individuals at the bar with “loose, belligerent body posture,” and hugged or touched a customer who he did not appear to be acquainted with. Richardson along with her attorney, Robert Wilson, met with Lake Worth police on Jan. 18, 2022, according to the warrant. She recalled what drinks Molina had that day and initially said he had had six drinks, but she later admitted it was eight, according to the warrant. The bartender, however, did not know if Molina had consumed his seventh drink and she said she poured out his eighth, partially consumed drink. Richardson told police she did not notice any indicators that Molina was intoxicated until he walked through an employees only area and that he left the restaurant shortly after that. “He couldn’t stand up, he was behind the bar, he was in places he shouldn’t have been,” Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian told WFAA-TV. “The signs that he displayed should have been an indicator that he was not safe to walk away from that building. This is a stark reminder of what can happen when we ignore those signs.” Good Samaritan pins down drunk driver trying to run away after killing Euless cop LAKE WORTH, Texas - FOX 4 has obtained video evidence from the scene of a deadly DWI crash that killed an off-duty Euless police officer. Police also released video evidence from the investigation into the bartender they say served that drunk driver so much vodka that his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. The videos were recently released now that the drunk driver has been convicted and sentenced to prison. In November 2021, Dylan Molina drunkenly crashed his rental Jeep into a sedan while driving at a high rate-of-speed through a Lake Worth intersection. Moments after the crash, Molina — 26 years old at the time — ran away from the scene. He did not make it far. Molina face-planted. And while some neighbors desperately tried to save the family inside the sedan, one neighbor held Molina down and cussed him out. "You stay right there, mother f**ker! You see what you did?!" the good Samaritan said. The driver of the sedan was off-duty Euless Police Detective Alex Cervantes. He died at the scene. His wife and two boys were injured but survived. In January, Molina took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Now, bartender Cala Richardson is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly overserving Molina before the crash. Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian is showing FOX 4 surveillance footage of Molina and Richardson at a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. "You see Dylan Molina walking from behind the bar area from the inside out to the outer bar area, and you see the bartender waving him around, telling him you can’t be back there. You need to move,’" he explained. "At this point, he stumbles backwards and grabs the bar to try to maintain his balance." Richardson served Molina eight double vodka Red Bull cocktails that Saturday morning, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. "Eight doubles, 16 single shots, is more than anybody should have in a three-hour period. Maybe even at all," Manoushagian said. "Clearly, not in a good place to be operating a vehicle. Clearly intoxicated. he’s holding another one of those double vodka and Red Bull drinks there, and then he simply walks away." But as Molina began to leave the parking lot, he was involved in a minor crash and drove away. Minutes later, he killed Cervantes. Earlier this month, FOX 4 sat down with Priscilla Cervantes as she spoke about raising a family without her husband and Molina’s 15-year sentence. "It’s not gonna bring Alex back, but at least he’s locked behind bars and not able to hurt another family like he did ours," she said. Lake Worth police showed Priscilla the video of Molina running away. Now, the department wants everyone to see it because they say it highlights a heartbreaking story that hopefully someone can learn from. "The offense of driving while intoxicated is something that we’re not going to tolerate," Manoushagian said. Molina also had a previous DWI arrest in Sansom Park in 2021. But for unknown reasons, he was not charged in that case until after the crash in which he killed Cervantes. That charge was tied into his 15-year sentence. Man Served 8 Drinks Before Drunken Driving Crash That Killed Euless Detective By Vince Sims • Published February 22, 2023 • Updated on February 23, 2023 at 10:23 pm The man convicted in the drunken driving crash that killed a Euless police detective in 2021 was served eight alcoholic drinks over a span of about three hours before getting behind the wheel, according to the arrest warrant for the bartender accused of overserving him. A newly released surveillance video from inside a Lake Worth taco restaurant shows what Dylan Molina was doing before causing a deadly crash that killed off-duty Euless Police Detective Alex Cervantes. The arrest warrant for bartender Cala Richardson said she served Molina eight double-vodka Red Bull cocktails in less than three hours. Molina is seen appearing to stumble after coming from an employee-only area behind the bar. Cervantes' wife, Priscilla Cervantes, said she has seen the video and that more could have been done to prevent the tragedy. "It does bother me to see all that,” Priscilla Cervantes said. “But I mean, I can't go back and take that day back. Neither can he." According to the arrest warrant, the bartender told investigators she did not notice any sign of Molina being drunk until he went into the employee-only area. "I mean, there could have been a lot that could have been done once he started acting that way," Priscilla Cervantes said. The video shows Molina walking out of the front door of the restaurant. Minutes later, the warrant said, he would run a red light and collide with the vehicle being driven by the detective. Cervantes was killed and his wife and children were seriously injured. Another video released on Wednesday showed Molina at the scene of the crash. In the video, Molina is seen standing near a crashed Jeep with his arms clasped behind his head. Molina then suddenly starts running away from the crash. Moments later a man enters the frame chasing Molina as he stumbles and falls to the ground. The man then holds Molina on the ground until the police arrive. Molina's blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the crash and he had THC in his system, police said. As Priscilla Cervantes still tries to move her life forward without her husband, she offered this reminder to others: "You never know when it's your last day,” Priscilla Cervantes said. “Remember to tell your loved ones that you love them daily because you never know if you are going to have that opportunity to tell them." Richardson surrendered to the Parker County Sheriff's Office. She faces a charge of sale to certain persons, which is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year behind bars and a $4,000 fine, police said. She was released after posting a $1,000 bond. Molina pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. He was sentenced last month to serve 15 years in prison. Euless detective’s widow sues taco shop, drunk driver, bartender for wrongful death NICOLE LOPEZ FEBRUARY 23, 2023 5:26PM The widow of a North Texas police detective filed a lawsuit Thursday against Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, General Motors, the drunk driver who fatally crashed into her husband’s car, and the Fuzzy’s bartender accused of overserving the driver. Dylan Molina, 27, was arrested in November 2021 for running a red light and hitting the off-duty Euless police officer’s car in Lake Worth. The collision resulted in Alejandro “Alex” Cervantes’ death and critically injured Cervantes’ wife, Priscilla Cervantes, and their two sons who were also in the car. Test results showed that Molina had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, twice the Texas legal limit of 0.08, when he crashed his Jeep into the Cervantes family’s car on Nov. 27, 2021. Cala Richardson, 26, who was a bartender at the Lake Worth Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, turned herself in to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 3 after she was charged with overserving Molina. Priscilla Cervantes is suing Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and its parent companies, the manager of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop at the time of the collision, General Motors, Molina, and Richardson for the wrongful death of Alex Cervantes, negligence, defective vehicle design, and the injuries sustained by Priscilla and her children, according to the lawsuit filed in Tarrant County District Court. She is seeking monetary relief of over $1 million. Officials with the companies could not immediately be reached for comment. The Fuzzy’s Taco Companies Employee Handbook had an “inadequate, defective and negligent” alcohol server policy, according to the lawsuit. The alcohol server policy and the employee handbook failed to require the server to be certified by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to sell and serve alcohol or require its employees to attend a commission-approved training program. The alcohol server policy provides that an intoxicated person should not be served, that any employee who willfully violates the policy will be terminated, and any employee who negligently served an intoxicated person will be counseled, according to the suit. There is no evidence of termination or counseling of Richardson, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit further claims that Fuzzy Taco Companies failed to recognize an intoxicated person and were aware an intoxicated person could cause death and injuries, yet, continued to “directly and indirectly encourage their servers to violate the law.” Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are liable for the wrongdoing of Richardson and the manager at the time Molina was overserved, the lawsuit states. “The Cervantes family was shocked to learn that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop allowed an unlicensed bartender being supervised by an unlicensed manager to serve alcohol to such an obviously intoxicated person,” the family said in a statement provided by their attorney, Jim Zadeh. Fuzzy’s Taco Companies violated the Texas Dram Shop Act by serving Molina when he “was obviously intoxicated to the extent he presented a clear danger to himself and others,” the suit says. The lawsuit also alleges that Cervantes’ car — designed and manufactured by General Motors — had a “defective occupant restraint system” and “failed to protect him because it violated several crashworthiness principles.” Molina failed to use “ordinary care by various acts and omissions,” including failing to control his rate of speed, disregarding a traffic signal, failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to make a timely application of brakes, failing to take proper evasive action, and failing to act as a reasonably prudent driver, according to the lawsuit. Molina was indicted in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. He was sentenced to 15 years on the manslaughter charge and 10 years each on assaults. The sentences will be served at the same time. Priscilla Cervantes is also seeking recovery for the pain and suffering Alex Cervantes suffered from the moment of impact up to his death, severe personal injuries, and for the loss of companionship, affection, comfort and love that existed between herself, their sons and Alex Cervantes, according to the suit. Priscilla Cervantes said she has suffered mental anguish as a result of Alex Cervantes’ wrongful death, and the reasonable probability that mental anguish will continue into the future. She also is seeking recovery for funeral expenses and other monetary losses. The lawsuit states their two sons suffered from physical pain, mental anguish and physical impairment, and Priscilla Cervantes is seeking recovery for future physical and mental pain and wage-earning losses. Priscilla Cervantes is being represented by the Law Office of Jim Zadeh, P.C. “The Cervantes family thanks all the first responders, good Samaritans, health care workers and law enforcement personnel who have provided them with amazing support throughout this terrible ordeal,” the family’s statement said. Widow of Euless police detective files lawsuit against drunk driver, bartender, Fuzzy's Taco LAKE WORTH, Texas - The widow of Euless Police Detective Alex Cervantes filed a lawsuit Thursday against the drunk driver who crashed into her husband, the bartender who allegedly over-served him, the taco shop where the drinks were sold and General Motors. Cervantes was killed in November 2021 when Dylan Molina ran a red light and drunkenly crashed his Jeep into the off-duty detective's sedan in Lake Worth. Cervantes' wife, Priscilla, and their two children were also inside the car and suffered injuries. The newly filed lawsuit contains an image of the mangled car Cervantes and his family had been riding in. The image was taken shortly after Molina struck them driving drunk. The lawsuit was filed one day after FOX 4 obtained cell phone video of a good Samaritan chasing down and pinning Molina on the scene. He spoke with FOX 4 on Thursday for the first time. Investigators say between 10:40 a.m. and 1:12 p.m. Molina ordered and drank nearly eight double Vodka Red Bulls at the Fuzzy's Taco on Azle Avenue. In January, Molina took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The bartender, Cala Richardson, is also facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly overserving Molina. But the new lawsuit from Cervantes’ widow focuses heavily on Fuzzy’s, alleging at the time of the crash that it had an "inadequate, defective and negligent alcohol server policy." The lawsuit also claims, "Richardson did not have a TABC server certificate, license or permit." It alleges Fuzzy’s had Richardson "obtain a TABC server’s certificate three days later on Nov. 30, 2021." Video from inside the restaurant shows Molina behind the bar and stumbling at one point. The suit also said General Motors failed Detective Cervantes because he was wearing a seatbelt, but the crash still caused his death. We did not hear back from Fuzzy's corporate office. A manager reached at the Lake Worth Fuzzy’s location said she was unaware of the lawsuit and did not direct us to anyone else who could respond. The lawsuit is seeking over a million dollars in damages for medical expenses and physical and emotional pain. Euless man sentenced to 40 years in prison for abuse, death of 7-week-old daughter BY NICOLE LOPEZ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 24, 2023 6:35 PM UPDATED FEBRUARY 26, 2023 10:31 AM A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the death of his 7 - week-old daughter after pleading guilty to injury of a child, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday. Zachary Watson plead guilty to abusing his daughter, Noriah Helmer. Noriah died on May 14, 2022, at the ICU at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. She had been physically abused by Watson at their Euless home, according to authorities. A specific cause of death has not been reported by the medical examiner’s office. The baby’s mother, Shanice Helmer, 23, faces a charge of child endangerment for allegedly allowing Watson to abuse Noriah and another child, according to Tarrant County court records. She was indicted in August. Her trial date has not been set. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Deanna Franzen prosecuted this case. Investigators Brent Ezelle, Tiffany Johnson, and Euless police also worked on the case.