Bartender charged for overserving drunk driver who killed teen heading home from prom

Houston Police officers arrest Natalia Ortiz at El Muelle Seafood, 6705 Airline Dr. Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Houston. Prosecutors say she is the bartender who served Edin Palacios 11 beers the night in May 2016 when he got drunk and fled police and crashed into and killed Jocelynn Valero, 18, who was on her way home from prom. less Houston Police officers arrest Natalia Ortiz at El Muelle Seafood, 6705 Airline Dr. Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Houston. Prosecutors say she is the bartender who served Edin Palacios 11 beers the night in May ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Bartender charged for overserving drunk driver who killed teen heading home from prom 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Edin Palacios sat down in a bar in north Houston in May 2016 and started to drink. Eleven beers later, he got in his car and drove off. A short distance away, while fleeing a police officer, he slammed into a Dodge Charger, killing 18-year-old Jocelynn Valero as she and her date drove home from prom.

Two years and two days later, police returned to El Muelle Seafood Bar on Wednesday afternoon and arrested the woman bartender who prosecutors say served him until he could barely walk.

“We’re not going after servers or bars that are conducting business legally, we’re going after people whose actions are criminal and negligent,” said Sean Teare, the prosecutor in charge of the Harris County District Attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Division. “When those actions result in the tragedies every day that we deal with on these roads, we’re going to come after them.”

Police went into the north Houston oyster bar on Airline Drive shortly after 5 p.m. and arrested Natalia Ortiz, a 25-year-old bartender.

Court records show Ortiz is charged with serving a drunk — a misdemeanor — and forging a government document, a felony.

The charges are part of a new effort from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to to crack down on bars that flout liquor laws.

Valero’s death was one of 3,776 drunk-driving related fatalities in Texas in 2016, the most recent year for which federal data is available. That same year, Houston led the state with 89 fatal DUI crashes — including Valero’s — according to Texas Department of Public Safety traffic data.

The charges are the latest effort by Teare’s taskforce, which charged three people in April with providing alcohol to a woman accused of driving drunk and killing a 36-year-old woman and her infant son. Prosecutors charged the trio with knowingly purchasing and providing alcohol to a minor, aggravated perjury, criminal negligence.

ACCUSED AFTER TRAGEDY: Four charged in suspected drunken driving crash that killed Clear Lake mom, baby

Advocates for those victimized by drunk driving declined to discuss the specifics of the arrest but said they supported the DA’s new effort.

“I have met bar owners that are responsible,” said John McNamee, regional executive director for the southeast Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “If this type of action helps make other bar owners be more responsible, then it’s well worth it.”

Ortiz’s charging documents show that investigators reviewed the bar’s surveillance video which showed Palacios appearing to be “obviously intoxicated,” and who “was observed having difficulty in balance and coordination, dropping items from his hand … nearly stumbles while walking. This behavior was exhibited in front of the Defendant as she knowingly and intentionally continued to serve and deliver beer to the intoxicated subject.”

Soon after, as Palacios was driving away, a Houston police officer tried to pull him over. At that point, Palacios fled, ran a red light, and crashed into the car Jocelynn Valero and her date were traveling in as the two YES Prep seniors drove home from prom. Valero died at the scene. Her male friend, who was driving the Dodge, survived but suffered a broken pelvis, a lacerated liver and other injuries.

STORY FROM MAY 2016: Prom night turns to tragedy due to alleged drunk driver

Prosecutors ultimately learned that Palacios had a blood alcohol content of .18 — more than twice the legal limit — and had consumed 11 beers, Teare said.

In April, a Harris County jury convicted Palacios of felony murder and sentenced him to 32 years in prison. Palacios’ lawyer said he that after he serves his sentence, he will be deported.

Ortiz does not yet have an attorney listed in court records. After her arrest, other restaurant employees were not available for comment.

st.john.smith@chron.com

twitter.com/stjbs