NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Key West is on probation for the next six months after an incident of underage drinking back in November. 

 

The License Commission had continued a hearing on the bar to consult with the city solicitor on whether charges could be brought. The opinion was that it was up to the District Attorney. 

 

Chief Mark Bailey at Tuesday's commission meeting said he did not believe criminal charges applied in this instance because no one at the bar "knowingly or intentionally" supplied the alcoholic beverages. 

 

"I feel that the bartender thought that the person was over 21 so it's not like she knowingly provided alcohol to them, to a person under 21. She just assumed that the person at the door was doing their job," he said. "So I don't feel that we can come after them criminally, or the bartender or the doorman, because the doorman did not give them alcohol."

 

The incident involved two 20-year-old men who had been found inside the State Street bar after one of the men's mothers had first taken him out of the bar and then called police when he went back inside. Both times, it appeared neither man had been carded despite a bouncer who was supposed to be scanning identification cards. 

 

The men had been drinking beer and doing shots. The chief said the bouncer was caught in a lie because he told the police he didn't recognize the men, but was seen on the bar's video taking their drinks when police showed up. 

 

Commissioner Peter Breen hammered on the point that if the intoxicated men had gotten behind the wheel of their car, a tragedy could have occurred. He referenced several instances of intoxicated driving, including three deaths, over the past 15 years — none of which involved Key West.