Now that the cards are on the table in the Brian Euston murder investigation, the $64 million question remaining is, was he overserved that fateful night at Kelly‘s in Westport?
Lost in the search for what happened to the 24 year-old Kansas City man – found dead on a sidewalk near Kelly’s where he’d passed the night drinking – was what sort of shape Euston was in during those wee small hours of the morning.
Not that there weren’t hints.
A Facebook tribute page put together by Euston’s friends is loaded with dozens of photos of Euston waving beer bottles and making Animal House party faces. Clearly the dude was not the laid back sort – he was a party boy of the first order. And while police kept Euston’s autopsy results under wraps, they finally released his blood alcohol levels with the arrest details’
And guess what? The dude was totally wasted – nearly five times the legal limit to operate a vehicle!
Sadly, his mother was quoted at the press conference as saying, "He was Mr. Happy and he was too Mr. Happy that night."
No shit.
Today’s Star story says, "According to court documents, Euston, who was intoxicated, was being overly friendly and hugging people. (the guy who slugged him’s) girlfriend told him to leave, but Euston refused and ‘kept getting in their faces.’ (The boyfriend) grew irritated at Euston and said he was going to ‘knock him out’ if he didn’t leave. When Euston stayed, (he) punched him once. Euston fell, striking his head on the concrete."
The question remaining is what in the heck Kelly’s was doing serving someone with a .387 blood alcohol level?
Do police plan to investigate?
"I haven’t heard yet," a police spokesman says. "Officially we investigated this as a homocide."
Kansas City Liquor Control could not be reached and Missouri Alcohol and Tobacco Control head Joe Hodgin declined to say.
However, the behind the scenes answer is yes.
Kelly’s will be investigated just like the Peanut downtown was a few years back.
Former KC liquor control head Vic Cook says, "If somebody dies as a result of something that happened at a bar, that would certainly trigger an investigation…I would think so, absolutely. It would be with me, absolutely."
Which brings us to the rules of overserving…
"The way the law is written is if the customer appears to be drunk, then you shouldn’t serve them," Cook says. "Unfortunately, it’s based on appearance."
However, the Missouri state statute reads as follows:
"Any licensee under this chapter, or his employee, who shall sell, vend, give away or otherwise supply any intoxicating liquor in any quantity whatsoever to any person…intoxicated or appearing to be in a state of intoxication, or to a habitual drunkard, and any person whomsoever except his parent or guardian who shall procure for, sell, give away or otherwise supply intoxicating liquor to any person under the age of twenty-one years, or to any intoxicated person or any person appearing to be in a state of intoxication, or to a habitual drunkard, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor…"
Put another way, "It’s illegal to sell alcohol to an intoxicated person," says a regulatory official.
Stay tuned…
a misdemeanor?
yet killing someone while driving a car is murder? something is not right here….but this
law was probably initiated when anheuser bush was still owned in st. louis and their
lobbyists carried some heavy weight in jeff city. And now they can throw girls in jail
for getting naked…what the hells the matter with the mo. legistlature…
someone needs to look into this…nice article….
a questions for glazer
has this happened in your places before? What did you do? How did you handle
this? I’d like to know from an owners standpoint how they handle a situation like
this. I’ve seen lots of people too drunk gettingh served….whats the law in kansas…thanks.
At least the kid wasnt driving…….
you get a DUI for that, but you know that first hand Hearne. Maybe in the interest of fair and balanced journalism you should give us a break down of all the back room plea deals in your case. I mean, you actually committed a crime, and could have killed someone while driving drunk. All this Euston kid did was get drunk in a party zone and maybe ran his mouth, and thats a big maybe. The fact is Westport, P&L , anywhere that has bars also has countless people walking around faced. So what? As for those Star quotes, I’m guessing the cops got that info from the perps girlfriend who also turned him in for that 35k reward. At any rate, between you and TKC dragging this kid, and in turn his mother through the dirt, your comments should go through the roof.
Weird Deal
Well… If reports are accurate… This perp may walk. A .387 can get you decked by anyone. Let alone a guy ‘minding his business’ while being ‘threatened and harassed’ by a large male. A lot of lawyers would take this case.
Did Euston deserve the death penalty… No. This is just a bad deal all around.
And if you think a Brookside Catholic family is going after Kelly’s… think again.
THE MORAL? DONT BE A DRUNKEN STUPID FUCK
This is now the 2nd recent, local case of some stupidass drunk fuckhead starting shit, then the stupid fucking drunkard gets punched and then the drunken stupid fuck dies and then the person who punched him is charged with some type of murder? FUCK THAT.
The moral? Dont be a drunken fuckeing asshole and dont start shit and you wont get punched and die. How dare they charge this guy with murder. He punched the asshole, and walked away. end of story until he got snitched out.
PS
Trying to blame a bar for serving booze, and getting people dunk and balming the bar for this death is lame as fuck too.
HOW ABOUT PEOPLE TAKE RESPONIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS????
HOW ABOUT THIS FAMILY ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THIS DRUNK STARTED SHIT AND GOT THE PUNCH HE DESERVED TOO BAD HE FELL ON HIS HEAD AND DIED….BUT …. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I (you) WALKED AWAY WITHOUT THROWING THE PUNCH??? MANY MNAY TIMES I WALKED AWAY………. BUT AFTERWARDS, EVERY FUCKING TIME, AT HOME TALKING ABOUT IT WITH THE GIRL, I LOOK BACK AND WISH I HAD PUNCHED THEM ALL, THOSE STUPID FUCKING DRUNKS!!!!
FUCK YOU STUPID DRUNKS STARTING SHIT….. FUCK THEM ALL.
PS
PS
I may sound out of line saying drunk fucks deserve what they get , but allow to to say that I own that right…..I speak from expierence. My brother was killed in a stupid drunk situation, where he was drunk and in the wrong place at the wrong time AND BAM…. he ands several others were slammed into and killed…..by a drunk driver (I should say a driver, who happened to be drunk when he encountered other dunks in the middle of the fucking road ) ….BUT… I looked VERY CLOSELY at the facts, and chose to not go after the guy who killed my brothe with a raging vengeance because I can accept the fact that there was no premeditated action taken against my brother, it was an accidnt.
If there had been malice, then that fucker would have been destroyed. …. but as it is ….. Things happen sometimes, it is destiny. . I know some of the other families who also lost a family members in that debacle /situation did sue, and they got money from the guys insurance….. but me and my family decdied not to sue. That money would fix nothing, it wouldnt bring back my brother…….. I miss my brother a lot, I have for a long time, it hurts I am aware that whole situation left me feeling meaner and angier, and that sucks….but ….. oh well… life is a bitch, maybe some day I will get over it, maybe not but anyway…
I will conclude with I think MADD is a fucked organzition, and DUI road blocks are nothing but RBLErevenue based law enfrocement. I believe the rule should be If you drive drunk and kill someone we kill you….If drink and drive drunk and nothing happens, nothing happens. …but as it is .08 DUI level is absurd. Police taking blood on the road is absurd. I have NEVER had a DUI,and I never will….. I am not an idiot….. of course that is just my unhumble opinion
Cue the Brian Euston character assassination
“And guess what? The dude was totally wasted – nearly five times the legal limit to operate a vehicle!”
One small point Herne, the kid wasn’t driving and was over 21. Commentary here and on other blogs, refering to Euston’s blood alchohol level, concommitant with an attemp to exculpate the perp and mitigate the violence and weight of this crime is an insult to the intelligence of anyone with room temperature IQ.
The presumed catalyst for this sucker punch according to the defendent, was harrassment (No doubt in court, this will be elevated to a supposed threat to Mr. Griswold’s safety, and a ‘Self Defense’ defense will be employed.) and fear. IMO, that is a lie, told by a killer trying to stay out of jail.
Mr. Griswold apparently has the stones to pull a Tech 9 on 4 badged Federal Officers (KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Let’s see now…
If Euston wanted a cab ride home, the cabs are park right outside Kelly’s. Or he could have asked the bar to call him one. That’s customary. What he was doing walking along a couple blocks away in such a wildy extreme state of inebriation is anybody’s guess. But both state and city liquor officials tell me it calls for an investigation as to why he was overserved to the extent that he was.
As for idle speculation on crowds of blacks, etc., please.
chuck for the win
America’s Pub is a problem. Not Kelly’s.
How many felons are in America’s Pub on any given night versus Kelly’s?
Herne. Are you saying Mr. Euston should have hired a guide?
That in his drunken state, he went into the forrest alone? Some one should have said “That JuJu Bwana!” Thats ridiculous. As I understand it, the streets in front of America’s Pub are public thoroghfares and open for anyone (?).
Your ‘customary’ comment ( ” If Euston wanted a cab ride home, the cabs are park right outside Kelly’s. Or he could have asked the bar to call him one. That’s customary.”) indicates that a sober white man would never walk on through a crowd of African Americans without being drunk or stupid. Now thats just my take on your comment, but THAT sounds like not so idle speculation about “crowds of blacks'”.
“What he was doing walking along a couple blocks away in such a wildy extreme state of inebriation is anybody’s guess.” What anyone is doing walking along the streets is anybody’s guess, until you ask them, or your Chris Angel and already know. We can’t ask brian, he is dead, and his ability to defend his actions are subsequently denied.
Look, I’m not trying to bust your balls here, I just think that this, and other articles on Brian Euston, re his drinking the night of the murder, do a disservice to not only the victim, but to the truth.
Until this city, and journalists like you, with the power to shape opinion, looks at real time problems in a real time honest and open way, this shit will continue to excaberate in spite of all the candle vigils and PC conversations that skip around the personal responsibility of the felons who commit the crimes, not the victims or ‘society’.
JMO, don’t wanna piss ya off. 🙂
Maybe tony botello has been right all along…..
I read the comment section of the pitch article on this incident and its become
a racial issue. The words on those comments make this site look like a bunch of
pussy cats.
The young man was obviously out of contrl. To reach a .38 level youha e to
drink a lot of shots…and even to get to that point and still be standing you have to
have some real tolerance to alcohol. I wonder from looking at the photos this guy
posted if he had a more serious alcohol problem than anyone cares to admit to.
Almost Every photo has him holding alcohol….and thats scary.
The parents comments were unusual….saying they had drank in westport when they
were 24. Were they aware their son had this drinking problem. did they look at his
facebook page….what did they know about their son or should have been aware of
and his drinking.
the real problem i have is that his friends left him there. He had to be consuming huge
amounts of alcohol. If his friends saw this why leave him there on his own.
2 lives are destroyed in this incident. The young man who died and the man who hit
him.
don’t know the law…but tony might be right. This case had tremendous media coverage
because of the young man . If the guy killed would have been black it would have been
another “black man killed”….
I doubt if the man killed was black if the police or the public would have really paid attention.
With so much black on black crime in this nation you wonder if these type of cases get pushed
to the back of the police file cases.
Eitehr way tony botello has been telling us this for many years. As much as i despise and
get angry at his comkments…this incident may prove that he was right.
Truly a very sad chain of events. Maybe this will change the way the kids in this town look
at drinking and driving. I know i refuse to drink and drive.
I have my car towed home if i am concerned about my drinking although i seldom have more
than one drink anymore. Or i take a cab….which makes it easy because if i’m not driving i
can have an extra drink and not worry about getting stopped.
A sad situation all the way around. Generally, when someone punches you it doesn’t kill you, but when you are 5x the legal limit, you probably are having trouble walking let alone recovering from a punch. My guess is, had the guy survived this, he would’ve woken up the next day wondering where he got the shiner from.
How can we make money on this?
A racial thing? Are you kidding me? The guy they arrrested is black?
This is not a racial thing, thisis a drunk thing, I had no ideas the arrested was black, but it makes no difference. This is a drunk getting in someones face thing. This is the drunk getting a deserved punched in the face and hitting his head and dieing thing. period.
The sad part?
Tonight another idiot will get too drunk, and get in someones face and they will get punched. Lets hope the drunk does not die.
Only in America would this happen. Only in the land of ” Lets blame someone else our problems” would this happen. Only in the land of “How can we make money on bad things happening” would thishappen. Only in America.
I’m assuming by now, you read my followup story. And realize that driving or not, this kid was way over the line wasted. totally over to an extent that most human being, the DUI lawyer told me, never come close to in their lifetimes.. Now look at that chart on alcohol blood levels. Look at the dozens of tribute pics of Euston getting hammered on his friend’s Facebook tribute page. Read what the DUI lawyer says about having known people to die from drinking with lower blood alcohol levels than Euston’s. That the only way he can even imagine Euston not passing out in his own vomit is that he had to be a serial, ridiculously heavy drinker. Now look at some of those photos of him again. Now remember that the Star “reported” that he planned to take a cab home. That based on the chart and DUI lawyer’s opinion he was near death’s door from drinking too much. That it was 3 a.m., the bars had closed. And after hours of heavy duty boozing he was getting in the face of some other dude’s girlfriend even after being warned. That the other dude had probably been drinking as well. That he’d passed dozens of cabs and walked right into a party crowd of people more than half out of his mind. That he wasn’t cold cocked, but rather was warned to leave the dude’s girlfriend alone. That if he hadn’t been a total wreck he might not have fallen and hit his head and died.
Allow me then to shape your opinion with these facts, unreported elsewhere in this manner. And that state and city liquor officials plan to investigate Kelly’s for overserving the dude.
You can take this information at face value. For better or for worse.
Herne. I don’t believe for one second Mr. Griswold, or
his friend’s stories concerning the threat posed by Brian Euston. Your eloquent and thorough explanation of the extent of Brian Euston’s inebriation, would preclude his being a real threat to anyone, much less a street wise baddass with convictions for assualt with deadly weapons and prediliction for impromtu violence who is surrounded by his friends. “Death’s door, passing out in his own vomit”, etc etc , this kid couldn’t hurt a flea.
In addition, I understand that the full extent of his injuries are yet to be revealed. No doubt as time passes, maybe the public will be allowed to sift through the chaff to find the wheat, or hops as it were.
Most all of us, at one time or another, have had too much to drink. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty, I have. If we didn’t get arrested for DUI, or get killed, we, we drinkers, or our families and the public, never knew what our blood alchohol level was during that same time.
The pictures of Brian that you post, are typical for many, if not most of the 24 year old kids in America. I do not see a straight line reference that can be made by an observer, without personal knowledge of Brian, from the pictures, to the implied consistant state of his drinking. Maybe he should have posted pictures of himself reading, or knitting, hell I don’t know, but kids, usually post party pictures, imo. Now I never met him, maybe you have and know he has a problem with alchohol and is a mean drunk. He sure as hell don’t look like a mean drunk, but then again, all I am going off of, is the pictures and commentary from his friends and family.
Thanks for your response.
Well, Chuck – it’s like this
Again, Brian didn’t post them his friends did. Probably a lot of people have silly, drunken revelry pics but almost every photo out of dozens – maybe hundreds – look like the wildest moment of most people’s lives. It comes off more as a documentary on a kid with a serious drinking problem than a random handful of shots from a spring break or four.
As for how much of a threat he may or may not have been, as one former bar owner pointed out to me, had Euston walked up to many if not most of the white country music patrons of the Beaumont Club past and got in the face of their girlfriends, he’d have gotten popped. Without the warning more than likely.
Don’t forget, it was closing time and a safe bet is the other people were somewhat wasted too. So it’s not like some sober as a judge clear-thinking individual took the measure of Euston’s wastedness and just decided to clock him. People don’t merely fight because they are threatened by some hulking bully. They get pissed because somebody is being rude, obnoxious and in their face. Especially when all parties are hammered.
Although, Euston had to the most blitzed. I had friends from high school that were jocky and when they’d drink they got belligerent and were susceptible to getting into fights over nothing. Somebody brushing by them too harshly – even if by accident.
If you want a strraight down the line opinion and set of measures for Euston’s drinking, read the post late yesterday about his blood alcohol content. The DUI lawyer assured me that most people on their most extreme party day, never came close to being as drunk as Euston was on that fateful night.
It’s very sad. But there are any number of lessons to be learned from this.
ok
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