TYLER, Texas — The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says a Tyler sports bar violated state alcohol beverage law for serving a man who is accused of driving while intoxicated and killing Smith County Deputy Lorenzo Bustos in July.
Chris Porter, TABC public information officer, said in a statement that Where's Rufus Sports Bar, located at 6100 S Broadway Ave #100, was investigated for the July 29 crash that killed Bustos, 29, on State Highway 155.
Daniel Nyabuto, 21, of Grand Prairie, is charged with intoxication manslaughter causing the death of a peace officer. He remains jailed in the Gregg County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
The investigation resulted in discovering the bar "violated the Alcoholic Beverage Code’s requirement that the business not operate in a place or manner which endangers public safety," Porter said.
The case remains pending at this time, Porter said.
Nyabuto was indicted (or formally charged) Oct. 13, according to online criminal records. The charge is considered a first-degree felony, which carries a penalty of five to 99 years in prison if the person is found guilty.
Bustos was on patrol with another deputy on late July 28 in the 14000 block of State Highway 155 S. and had performed a traffic stop with emergency lights activated on the patrol unit, the Smith County Sheriff's Office said.
At approximately 12:15 a.m. on July 29, the other deputy, Michael Skinner, called emergency services saying that Bustos had been hit by a different vehicle. Smith said Bustos was "launched under the patrol unit."
The sheriff's office said Bustos was flown to a Tyler hospital, where he died in the ICU around 6 a.m.
Nyabuto, who officials identified as the driver of the vehicle that struck the deputies, was arrested and booked initially on an intoxicated assault charge.
According to an arrest affidavit, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper said Nyabuto did not know where his destination was or where he came from. Nyabuto swayed while he was standing.
The trooper wrote in the affidavit that lost his mental and physical faculties and was intoxicated.
Bustos was in his last day of the "ghost phase," which is a part of SCSO training. He had been with the SCSO for about five months. Skinner was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released.
Before coming to Smith County, Bustos worked at the Henderson Police Department and the Rusk County Sheriff's Office.
He graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 2011. He married his high school sweetheart Gloria and they have three children together (ages 8, 5 and 4).