Irving police seek 4th in death of waitress
Posted on 01/06/2003 10:26:35 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Irving police seek 4th in death of waitress
01/06/2003
Irving police are looking for a fourth person wanted in the death of a waitress at an Irving Bennigan's.
Jennifer Michelle Sanchez, 22, was trying to write down the license-plate number of the car after its four occupants ran out on a $100 restaurant tab early Friday.
She died later that day at Parkland Memorial Hospital from head injuries.
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The driver, 18-year-old Sarah Foust of Irving, is charged Saturday on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence, Irving police said. She's in jail on $100,000 bail.
David Thornton, 19, of Duncanville and Kortnie Henson, 19, of Midlothian were charged with aggravated assault. They are in jail on $50,000 bail each.
The fourth occupant, a Dallas man in his 20s, was not in the car when police stopped it about two miles from the restaurant. He had not been taken into custody Saturday.
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The Irving police homicide unit is investigating the incident, including whether Ms. Foust backed into Ms. Sanchez on purpose and whether alcohol was purchased illegally at the restaurant.
Ms. Sanchez had run into the restaurant parking lot to write down the license-plate information about 1 a.m. when Ms. Foust backed into her, police said. Ms. Sanchez fell on the car's trunk. The driver then sped forward, carrying Ms. Sanchez on the car before she was thrown off.
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Ms. Sanchez's funeral has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Arlington Funeral Home followed by burial at Moore Memorial Gardens in Arlington. Relatives also have tentatively planned a memorial service Tuesday night at the funeral home.Donations are being accepted at the Bennigan's in Irving in the 4300 block of Airport Freeway. Bennigan's officials will meet with the family after the funeral to determine what kind of fund would best preserve Ms. Sanchez's memory.
The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.
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The purpose of policies such as that are not to make waitresses do what Sanchez did, nor to eek more profit margin out of the waitstaff, it's to prevent young waitpeople from ginving their friends free stuff. It generally works and helps the young employees fight the peer pressure to serve their friends free food and drinks.
Bennigan's policy dictates that servers are not responsible for covering the tab when patrons leave without paying, spokeswoman Trish Coghlan said.
If the cops really wanted him, they would release his name and description. He must be from a "good family"
The use of the description "in his 20s" suggests that the missing guy is at least 21.
The felony murder rule does not apply, because none of the things these other kids did was a felony.
Sarah, however, is in deep doo.
David Thornton, 19, of Duncanville and Kortnie Henson, 19, of Midlothian were charged with aggravated assault. They are in jail on $50,000 bail each.$50k is quite a bit. It seems there's detail info the police have that we don't yet.
I'm sure the DA will figure it out. Right now, they're being held though...
Hmm? Don't bet on it. She's 18, and this is Texas...
Accessory after the fact might do it.
Sarah, however, is in deep doo.
Agreed.
I guess that's possible, but it seems like a reach. These passengers would have had to have aided in the escape, and it's pretty clear that Sarah was already escaping by being behind the wheel.
There may be another angle, especially if it can be shown that they encouraged the driver to run over the victim. I'm not sure. But I think an attorney could get the charges reduced pretty easily.
On the other hand, I'm having a hard time feeling any sympathy for any of these jerks.
Waitress inquiry looks at alcohol01/07/2003
State investigators are looking into whether alcohol was served to underage patrons at an Irving Bennigan's where a waitress was killed Friday in the parking lot after she was struck by a car whose occupants had run out on a $100 restaurant tab.
Jennifer Michelle Sanchez, 20, was trying to write down the license-plate number of the car about 1 a.m. Friday after four people – one of whom was of legal drinking age – left without paying. The car backed into Ms. Sanchez, and she fell on the trunk, authorities said. The car then sped forward before throwing her off, officials said. She died later that day of head injuries.
The driver, 18-year-old Sarah Foust of Irving, remained in custody Monday at the Irving Jail with bail set at $100,552. She was charged with suspicion of murder and driving under the influence, Irving police said. Two passengers, David Thornton, 19, of Duncanville and Kortnie Henson, 19, of Midlothian remained at the Irving Jail on Monday with bail set at $50,000 each for aggravated assault.
Police are searching for a 26-year-old Dallas man believed to have been with the teens at the restaurant. Police said the man was not in the car when they stopped it about two miles from the restaurant.
Alcohol was sold to the group, but police would not say how much was sold or whether the teenagers consumed alcoholic beverages because the matter is still under investigation.
"There was alcohol on the ticket," Officer David Tull said. "There was food and beverages."
Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission officials said they plan to investigate and have requested a copy of the restaurant bill to determine whether alcohol was served to those underage, Capt. David Alexander said.
"We understood there was alcohol involved and underage people involved," he said. "It's a very unfortunate incident."
Bennigan's officials declined to say whether alcohol was served to the teenagers that night in their restaurant. "That's not something I can talk about right now with it being a police investigation," Bennigan's spokeswoman Trish Coghlan said.
Ms. Henson's 11-year-old sister said her parents did not want to discuss their daughter's arrest. Mr. Thornton's parents, who live in Duncanville, and Ms. Foust's family could not be reached for comment.
A neighbor said Ms. Henson lived infrequently with her mother and stepfather in a Midlothian trailer. Records show that she also recently lived in Splendora, Texas.
Neighbors did not know how the teens knew each other, but records show that Ms. Foust and Mr. Thornton may have lived near each other in Duncanville several years ago.
The restaurant held a prayer vigil for Ms. Sanchez on Sunday night that drew about 150 people.
Daniel Sanchez said he was still struggling to understand his daughter's death.
"All I want to know is what happened," he said. "I don't really know what happened."
Ms. Sanchez was a student at North Lake College in Irving and was working at Bennigan's to pay for school and a new apartment.
"She had displayed a lot of enthusiasm for working with children in an educational capacity," he said. "When her time was flexible, she worked as a Sunday school teacher."
A memorial fund has been created for Ms. Sanchez at Comerica Bank in Arlington on Lamar Boulevard. Bennigan's employees nationwide have made donations, said John Beck, the company's vice president for marketing.
The Bennigan's chain is based in Plano and is part of the Metromedia Restaurant Group that includes Ponderosa Steakhouse, Steak and Ale Restaurant and Bonanza Steakhouse. Mr. Beck said company policy dictates that servers are not responsible for walkouts on restaurant checks. "That has always been our stated policy," he said.
Making servers pay for customers who don't pay is common practice in the industry, said Paul Paz, an Oregon-based consultant for servers in the restaurant industry.
"It happens," he said. "Employers can't legally make the employee pay the tab, but what they can do is write the employee up for being inattentive. That can cost them their job. There are not a whole lot of waiters who are going to hire a lawyer because a boss made them pay a walked tab."
Mr. Sanchez said he wants to make sure the right policy is in place to protect restaurant workers.
"I have given it much prayer," he said. "We are interested in changing policy so this doesn't happen again. Jennifer's life has gotten a lot of response, and I want to shoulder that responsibility."
Ms. Sanchez's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Arlington Funeral Home.
Staff writer Jennifer Emily contributed to this report.
E-mail kdurnan@dallasnews.com
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