Moses Lake attorney wants verdict to educate

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake attorney is hoping a Florida case can educate store owners about the consequences of selling alcohol to minors.

William Gilbert recently won a $716 million verdict in a Hillsborough County, Florida case against a convenience store and its owners and employees which routinely sold alcohol to minors, according to court records. One of the teenagers buying alcohol from the convenience store, David W. Holdsworth, crashed into a car in February 2008 killing Samuel Garcia III.

Garcia's family filed the civil suit against Best for Less Food Mart, Nasser and Wendy Ayyoub, the owners, as well as Osama Ayyoub, a store employee. Gilbert, along with Florida attorney Roland Santiago, claimed the business acted negligently when Osama Ayyoub sold Holdsworth alcohol, according to court records.

Holdsworth and another teen left school at about 3 p.m. and Holdsworth bought a 12-pack of beer and two cans of "Tilt," an alcoholic energy drink. The two teens went to a park, met another teen and drank the alcohol, Gilbert said. Holdsworth and another teen went back to the convenience store for more alcohol and went to a local beach and drank the alcohol.

"This convenience store was about a mile and a half from the high school. They were well known by the kids in the high school for selling alcohol to minors," he said. "Holdsworth's mom called him at about 6:30 p.m. and told him he needed to get home, and he started for home. He was driving (that) Camaro and he got on it and he was doing about 97 mph in a 35 mph zone in a residential area (with) small curves in the road ... He lost control and my client, Sammy Garcia, was sitting in the driveway."

The Camaro struck Garcia's Chevorlet Caprice, driving it through a utility box, and killing the man, according to court records. Holdsworth was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

The convenience store routinely sold alcohol to minors, Gilbert said. Employees would package the alcohol in paper bags or boxes, and charge the minors extra. They had been cited previously for it.

The owners denied selling the alcohol during the trial, he said.

"As far as the verdict goes, we were all pretty shocked by the numbers that came in. The jury obviously got a hold of it and they were upset, and wanted to make sure this is never going to happen again in Florida or anywhere else for that matter," Gilbert said. "These people who sell alcohol in convenience stores or bars need to understand there are ramifications for their actions."

Gilbert said the message the verdict sends is the most important aspect of the case.

"The jury sent a message, and I really hope that people don't get lost in the whole trial lawyers and big verdicts and judgments, and lose the concept of what is really happening here," he said. "If the jury could have flogged those people in public they would have done it."

Garcia's family, along with Gilbert, plans to use the incident as a way to educate store owners and children about the dangers of drinking and driving. Gilbert plans to take a set of recorded interviews with Garcia's family and friends and combine it with the recorded deposition from Holdsworth to distribute.

"They're going to get that into the schools, get it to the (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) program ... those kind of programs to help prevent this stuff," he said. "The hope we have, and the family has, is that we can help prevent this from happening to anyone else."

Gilbert spoke with people in Spokane about using the videos, and plans to speak to Grant County school and anyone else interested in seeing the material, he said.