Ohio Division of Liquor Control suspends contract with West Toledo store
8/16/2013The Ohio Division of Liquor Control has suspended its contract with a West Toledo liquor store where a minor allegedly bought alcohol that led to the death of an Ottawa Hills teen.
Foxx Liquor Store, 5341 Dorr St., still may sell beer and wine but cannot sell “high proof” liquor, said Brian Hoyt, spokesman for the ODLC. He said the decision was made to suspend the contract following the indictment of a Foxx employee last week for selling or furnishing intoxicating liquor to a minor, a misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory fine of $500 that could go as high as $1,000, and a possible jail term of up to six months.
The employee, Nicholas Thompson, 38, of 340 S. Reynolds Rd., allegedly sold a bottle of vodka Feb. 1 to a friend of Brian Hoeflinger, 18, who was killed that night after drinking at a friend’s birthday party, driving, and crashing his car into a tree.
Foxx Liquor is “contracted with the state of Ohio to be a retail liquor agency,” Mr. Hoyt said. “As a contractor, we can suspend that contract, and we have.”
The suspension that came on Thursday is indefinite, he said. Further action may depend on what happens in the criminal matter.
“We continue to look into this matter, and we’re watching closely to what is still an indictment, an accusation,” Mr. Hoyt said.