LONGVIEW, Texas — A Longview restaurant received a warning from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in connection with a January assault that ultimately caused the death of a 54-year-old customer.
Hector Francisco Vancini died after a Jan. 17 altercation in the parking lot of On The Border, located at 200 W Loop 281 in front of the Longview Mall. Vancini was unconscious because of the assault until he died in the hospital on Feb. 2.
According to a statement from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, On The Border in Longview received a warning for failure to report a breach of peace on Jan. 17.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code states a business or group licensed to sell alcohol must make a report to the TABC about a breach of peace on the location's premises as soon as possible but no later than five calendar days.
However, if the incident is a shooting, stabbing or murder, or an incident involving serious bodily injury, the licensee must report the incident no later than 24 hours from when it happened, the code states.
On Jan. 23, Treboria Wallace, 35, was arrested in Harrison County for an aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury charge in connection with the fight. He was released the same day on a $50,000 bond. He has not been charged with murder.
Vancini's family recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the restaurant, the mall, Wallace and the servers at the restaurant. The complaint says Vancini was having drinks with a friend while Wallace was also at the restaurant with another person.
The lawsuit claims that servers at the On The Border overserved both Vancini and Wallace "in spite of their obvious intoxication." It says On The Border did not intervene when Vancini and his friend were visibly stumbling out of the restaurant. When they two stumbled into Wallace and his friend, Wallace became visibly upset with Vancini and his friend.
Wallace shoved and slapped Vancini and his friend, and after being "baited," Vancini threw a punch in self-defense, according to the lawsuit's claims. Wallace then struck Vancini in the head, causing him to become unconscious after hitting the pavement.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys say On The Border never intervened to stop the altercation and if the customers hadn't been overserved, there would not have been an escalation in the situation.
“Although no amount of compensation can replace what this family lost, we hope to set a precedent for restaurants everywhere,” said managing partner Tej Paranjpe of the Houston-based Paranjpe Mahadass Ruemke LLP, which is representing the family. “This was a horrific situation that could have been prevented if the responsible parties had done their duty to paying customers.”
Paranjpe called this situation a clear case of negligence.