Attorneys for P2 The Deuce restaurant and the adjacent The Warehouse venue allege in a court document filed Monday that family members of a man killed in a wreck cannot prove the driver responsible for the collision was served alcohol by their clients.
They’re asking for a summary judgment in favor of their clients rather than going to trial.
Wichitan Edgar Alarcon, 39, was killed in a collision between two pickups on March 15, 2024.
Court documents show Dakota Joseph Phillips, driver of the pickup that struck Alarcon’s vehicle, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter on Feb. 6.
In November 2024, Alarcon’s surviving spouse, Laura Olivas, sued Phillips and P2 The Deuce and The Warehouse on behalf of Alarcon’s survivors.
They allege an underaged and intoxicated Phillips was served alcohol at the establishments and seek damages over $1 million, according to court documents.
Attorneys for the businesses contend the plaintiffs cannot establish when service of alcohol occurred, who served Phillips, or that Phillips was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Olivas’ lawyers filed paperwork on April 27 alleging a police investigation revealed that Phillips had spent two to two and a half hours drinking at the establishments on the day of the accident, as backed up by witness testimony and Phillips’ own admission.
Phillips had testified under oath he had attended a Guns & Hoses event at the venues and had been served eight to 10 beers at P2 and about six shots of liquor at The Warehouse, according to the survivors’ lawyers. He testified he was never asked for ID at either establishment. Phillips was 20 at the time of the incident.
Guns & Hoses is a charity event held by the Wichita Falls Police Officers Association and the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association, according to the event’s website.
Attorneys for Alarcon’s survivors contend three companions testified they attended the event with Phillips at the establishments on the day of the fatal crash.
Phillips received 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation on Feb 6 following his plea, court records show. He was ordered to spend 180 days in jail, as well as three days in jail on each anniversary of the wreck for 10 years.
If Phillips successfully serves this type of probation, he can avoid having a conviction on his record and can have the case expunged. The second-degree felony is punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
The agreement for Phillips’ punishment was signed by Senior District Judge Stephen Bristow in 78th District Court, according to court documents.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls businesses seek to avoid trial in death-related lawsuit
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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