Texas bartender charged for serving killer before deadly shooting spree
A Texas bartender who served a man who later went on a deadly shooting spree in September 2017 was arrested and charged last week by authorities in Texas. Lindsey Glass, 27, was charged with violating Texas law when she served Spencer Hight enough drinks that his blood alcohol level was four times the state's legal limit. Hight then drove to his ex-wife's house in Plano, Texas, and shot and killed eight people.
Glass was arrested on April 30. In 2018, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission concluded in a report that Glass violated Texas law, arguing a person is guilty of violating the "Sale of Certain Persons" offense if he or she negligently "sells an alcoholic beverage to an habitual drunkard or an intoxicated or insane person." The crime is a misdemeanor that carries a year in jail or a $500 fine, or both.
In a statement to CBS News, Glass' attorney, Scott Palmer said, "Spencer Hight's decision to destroy the lives of eight other people is unrelated to the four drinks that Hight consumed at the Local Public House on September 10, 2017."
"Indeed, far from being complicit, Lindsey was the only person who tried to stop Hight," Palmer's statement said. "When Lindsey became suspicions of Hight she contacted her manager. When her manager's efforts did not resolve Lindsey's concerns, she followed Hight and then, as her concerns grew, she called 911. Lindsey never expected for Hight to commit this horrific act."
On September 10, 2017, Spencer Hight showed up to a Dallas Cowboys watch party in Plano heavily armed. He shot and killed eight people, seriously injuring one other person, before police shot and killed him. His 27-year-old estranged wife Meredith Lane, who was among those killed, had been hosting a cookout at her home for co-workers and friends.
Plano Police Chief Greg W. Rushin called the crime the worst mass shooting in the city's history. "We've never had a shooting of this magnitude; never had this many victims," he said at the time.
Despite his intoxication, Hight's massacre appeared carefully planned. He came armed with a .38 caliber handgun, an AR-15 rifle and a folding knife. Police discovered rounds of ammunition and binoculars inside of his car, and found another rifle, additional ammunition and gun accessories at his apartment.
According to surveillance video taken from The Local Public House in Plano, Texas, Hight displayed a large knife to bar staff members, even spinning it around. Hight was visibly drunk and his behavior at the bar concerned employees enough that they requested advice from a manager on how to handle his situation. Glass texted fellow bartender Timothy Banks about Hight's behavior.
Banks confronted Hight on the bar's patio and later said in an interview with police that the bar's owner, Jerry Owen, advised him to not call the police. Glass and The Local Public House were both sued by the victims' families for a million dollars in damages for their perceived role in the massacre. Their civil suit was later dropped.
