Lawsuit alleges West Peoria liquor store built reputation of selling alcohol to minors

Express Liquors in West Peoria has allegedly engaged in a willful practice of selling alcohol to teenagers as young as 14 without asking for identification, leading to the death of a 16-year-old girl, according to a new lawsuit.

Deb Beaupre, the mother of Mia Dusek, a 16-year-old killed in a fatal drunken driving incident in February 2022, filed a civil lawsuit in Peoria County on Wednesday alleging that Express Liquors negligently sold alcohol to minors without asking for identification, leading to the death of her daughter.

Clayton Bell, who is now serving prison time for Dusek's death as he was driving the vehicle when she was killed, was also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

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'It's what they did to make money'

In her lawsuit, Beaupre and her lawyers make the argument that Express Liquors not only sold alcohol to a minor the night Dusek was killed, but has made a reputation for itself among teens in Peoria County as the place to go to buy liquor while underage.

"Selling alcohol to underage teenagers was part of the modus operandi of the business practices of Express Liquors," Beaupre's lawyer Jeff Green said Thursday. "It's part of how they do business. It's what they did to make money."

Express Liquors had sold alcohol to underage teens, one as young as 14, at least 65 times before Dusek's death, according to the lawsuit. A phone call to Express Liquors was not successful as the listed phone number appears to be disconnected.

The store had also been ticketed by the Peoria County Sheriff's Department twice after Dusek's death for selling liquor to minors involved in a sting operation.

West Peoria Mayor James Dillon, who is also the town's liquor commissioner, said Express Liquors has been fined three times since 2020 for selling liquor to minors.

• December 2020: Express Liquors was fined $800.

• May 13, 2022: Express Liquors was fined $1,000.

• March 23, 2023: Express Liquors was fined $2,500, the maximum penalty.

Dillon said when Peoria County conducts underage stings at West Peoria bars and liquor stores, all establishments are visited, not just specific stores.

Green said five teenagers were interviewed with their parents' permission who said they had purchased alcohol from Express Liquors 65 times dating back two or three years. One underaged girl said she had purchased alcohol 30 times at Express Liquors. Green would not say if the five teenagers interviewed had any connection to the case.

Dillon said he was shocked to hear that there were 65 instances of underage sales at Express Liquors, but said he's talked to parents and grandparents whose children had been going in there. He said the sheriff's department has been aware, as well, of Express Liquors selling to teenagers.

"We've been getting a lot of complaints lately of underage drinking everywhere, and we've been on that," Dillon said. "We probably send at least once or twice a year a letter to everybody. If we get a complaint at one place, we send a letter to all of them so no one can say we're picking on one place."

Beaupre said she was speaking out against Express Liquors to "save another mother from the incredible anguish that I've been going through since Mia's death."

"It makes me sick that Express Liquors is making money off the sale of alcohol to minors because the kids know that's the one liquor store in town they can go to to buy alcohol without getting carded," Beaupre said. "If they had just followed the law and said no to these teenagers, Mia would still be with us."

In addition to seeking financial damages from Express Liquors, Beaupre and Green said they will be taking their complaint to the West Peoria Liquor Commission in hopes action will be taken against the store.

Dillon said there is nothing he can do as liquor commissioner unless he receives an incident report from police. Express Liquors passed its last compliance check done by the Peoria County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 7, according to Sherrif Chris Watkins.

Dillon said the liquor commission and police need help to identify and stop underage drinking.

"How in the world is a liquor store even allowed to remain open, how many tickets need to be issued before they are shut down?" Beaupre said. "How many accidents or deaths need to happen from selling alcohol to teenagers before something is done?"

Beaupre, who is the manager of Dusek's estate, is seeking an amount in excess of $50,000, plus attorneys fees, expert witness, and punitive damages from Express Liquors and Clayton Bell.

What happened the night of Mia Dusek's death?

On Feb. 26, 2022, the night Mia Dusek was killed in a one-car accident in Bartonville, Express Liquors is said to have sold alcohol to a 17-year-old boy without checking his identification, according to the lawsuit.

That 17-year-old boy then provided the alcohol, which is said to have been multiple 12-packs, a six-pack and multiple Four Lokos, to Clayton Bell who became drunk from it.

Bell, while drunk, would later drive himself and other teens, including Mia Dusek, in his Ford Focus, traveling at speeds estimated at 75-83 mph in a 35-mph speed limit zone.

Bell lost control in the 6700 block of West Pfeiffer Road in Bartonville, causing it to flip off the roadway and roll over multiple times. Police found the vehicle at 12:25 a.m. resting on its rooftop.

Dusek was ejected from the vehicle and killed. A video shown during Bell's trial showed Dusek screaming at Bell from the backseat to "value our life" and slow down.

Bell and two other teens were taken to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries that night. They were all students at Limestone Community High School.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Express Liquors in West Peoria, IL named in Mia Dusek death lawsuit