Man on probation again accused of selling alcohol to teen
JEFFERSON COUNTY – A Westminster man on probation for selling alcohol to under-aged teens at a Lakewood liquor store is accused of doing it again at the same store, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Van Thien Pham
Van Thien Pham, 47, was working at Alameda Square Liquors last week when he allegedly sold a 24-ounce bottle of beer to an under-aged male, who was part of an undercover operation, without asking for identification. The teen, a member of the Police Explorers, was part of a liquor store compliance operation conducted by Lakewood Police. Pham’s wife owns the liquor store.
Pham also was working at the store four years ago, on March 13, 2007, when he sold liquor to another under-aged teen, with lethal consequences.
The teen and his friends drank the alcohol and later that night the driver of their car caused a two-car collision that claimed the life of 17-year-old Samara Stricklen and injured 20-year-old Seth Mutschler.
The driver, 17-year-old Nanette LaFleur, later was sentenced to four years in a youth-offender facility in Pueblo as part of a suspended 12-year sentence. LaFluer pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and vehicular assault-DU. LaFleur initially claimed to have been a passenger in the accident that killed Stricklen, but investigators later found she had been driving.
Pham was indicted on 10 misdemeanor counts of selling alcohol to minors and was sentenced to two years in jail and four years probation in addition to community service after he entered a guilty plea to the charges in 2008. The judge also prohibited Pham from working in a liquor store as a condition of his probation.
During his trial, prosecutors revealed Pham previously had sold alcohol to minors, including the same teen who bought alcohol the night Stricklen was killed in the collision at West Alameda Avenue and Florida Street in Lakewood’s Green Mountain area.
Pham remains on probation from the 2007 case and Lakewood investigators say he was working in the same store again when he allegedly sold alcohol to the teen in the undercover operation despite the judge’s order barring him from working there.
“Working in a liquor store and the illegal sale of liquor are both in violation of Pham’s probation,” according to a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office, which has filed a petition to revoke Pham’s probation. A hearing has been set for June 1 at 8:30 a.m. in Division 1 of the Jefferson County Court.
