<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=24hDHW_0wFseNs500" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=24hDHW_0wFseNs500" width="733" height="500" ><figcaption>STAFF FILE PHOTO&nbsp; STAFF FILE PHOTO</figcaption></figure>BELCHERTOWN — A Belchertown restaurant is facing charges for allegedly serving 22 shots of liquor to three underage employees over a six-hour period in early August, one of whom got into a car crash while driving under the influence in Ludlow a short time later.At a virtual hearing Tuesday before the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, investigators alleged that Jessica Morehouse, who owns and manages Leena’s Place, a restaurant at the Cold Springs Country Club off Chauncey Walker Street, served the alcohol to the employees and drank with them on Aug. 7. ABCC investigator Caroline Guarino-Wilichoski recounted to commissioners what she saw on restaurant security footage to back up the allegations.Soon after, one of the employees, Madison Barber, 20, of Springfield, was arrested in Ludlow and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation after her car spun out and crashed into a car repair shop on Center Street.According to the charge read by Commission Chairman Jean Lorinzo, Leena’s Place was charged with 22 counts of illegally serving or delivering an alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age.“I know I speak for the entire commission when I say it’s very concerning that it was you yourself who served these underage individuals,” Lorinzo said to Morehouse, who was present at the virtual hearing.Belchertown Detective Sgt. Robert Mann filed a complaint with the ABCC after hearing about the crash from Ludlow police. Mann and Guarino-Wilichoski investigated the incident and reviewed security footage from the restaurant.At the hearing, Morehouse took responsibility for illegally serving the three people, two who were 20 years old and one who was 16 years old, and has since implemented training and policies to prevent serving underage employees. She told Guarino-Wilichoski and Mann that she did not know that Barber and another 20-year-old employee were underage and did not check their ages on hiring paperwork or IDs before serving them alcohol.“I deeply regret that day, and the lapse in judgment that led to this unfortunate event could have been prevented,” she said. “I’m beyond grateful that no one was seriously injured, as I know it could have been.” The commission will issue a written decision based on the testimony at a later date.According to the report and security footage recounted by Guarino-Wilichoski, Barber arrived for her first day of work at noon. She admitted to Morehouse that she was nervous for her first day as a server for the restaurant, so Morehouse offered Barber a shot of vodka to calm her. Barber was a week away from her 21st birthday.Morehouse poured her underage employees shots of vodka and whiskey seven times over the next three hours, Guarino-Wilichoski said, including two shots for a 16-year-old employee. Later, Barber began serving herself and Morehouse shots. When the second 20-year-old employee arrived for her shift at around 4:15 p.m., she began drinking with Morehouse and Barber.Morehouse is seen in security footage to have resumed pouring shots for the two employees at around 5:15 p.m, and continuing to drink with the women — switching off who pours — until roughly 7:45 p.m. Guarino-Wilichoski read from her report that in total, Barber consumed 13 shots of alcohol, the second 20-year-old employee drank seven shots of alcohol, the 16-year-old employee had two shots of alcohol, and Morehouse ingested 16 shots of alcohol, investigators said.Barber left Leena’s Place at 7:22 p.m. to go to her next job in Ludlow and drove for less than a minute before a resident called the Ludlow Police Department about a erratic driver on Route 21. Two miles from the restaurant, a rear tire blew on Barber’s vehicle, causing the car to spin out and crash into Roy’s Auto Service.Police who arrived at the scene noted Barber’s slurred speech, slightly bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcohol. Based on field sobriety test results, her blood alcohol content was at 0.18, which is 0.1 above the legal limit for driving of 0.08.After the incident, Morehouse told the commissioners she took several online trainings, recertified her tip certification, and rewrote the employee handbook’s alcohol policies. There is now a list of employees classifying who is under 16, under 18, under 21 and over 21 at the waitress station, Morehouse said during the hearing, and a new protocol to verify all legal documents and hiring paperwork.“I regret this decision as it was only a lapse in judgment,” she said. “I do hundreds of private events off-site where I request single-day permits. I’ve never been in violation with any of my permits, and I’ve never been in any other trouble.” Lorinzo acknowledged Morehouse’s honesty and preemptive measures to regulate employee drinking, but noted the charged violations still stand.“You have to know how serious these allegations are,” she said. “Holding a license is a privilege, and it’s one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”</div></body>

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Leena’s Place in Belchertown faces state alcohol violation for allegedly serving 22 shots of liquor to underage employees

BELCHERTOWN — A Belchertown restaurant is facing charges for allegedly serving 22 shots of liquor to three underage employees over a six-hour period in early August, one of whom got into a car crash while driving under the influence in Ludlow a short time later. At a virtual hearing...