Denver police have issued a summons to a man they say operated an unlicensed valet-parking business that employed a parking attendant killed in a hit-and-run accident.
Everardo Moses Garcia III never applied for the license needed to provide the service at the Rockstar Lounge, where 21-year-old Jose Medina was run down, said Meghan Hughes, spokeswoman for the city’s Excise and Licenses Department.
Medina was hit Jan. 22 as he held a car door open for a patron outside the nightclub, at 940 Lincoln St.
Garcia couldn’t be reached for comment. An employee at the club said Patrick Wilson, one of the owners, had no comment on the summons.
A competitor, Rocky Mountain Valet, submitted an application to the city of Denver for a license needed to run a parking business at the Rockstar in November, Hughes said.
But the company withdrew its application in December after finding there weren’t any parking lots available nearby, Chris Misko, president of Rocky Mountain Valet, said recently.
“We were fully intent on doing business there, but it was evident there wasn’t proper parking in the area. If I can’t secure a parking lot, we don’t provide service,” Misko said.
Without a parking lot, cars would have to be parked on the street, increasing the danger that they could be vandalized.
“We can’t patrol it properly; there is no security in place to make sure the vehicles are safe,” Misko said.
The penalty for operating without a license can be a fine up to $999 or up to a year in jail.
Authorities believe Norma Paola Vera-Nolasco, 31, was driving the vehicle that hit Medina. Besides Vera-Nolasco, three others have been arrested in the case: Eliu Montes-Garcia, 28; Yolanda Bastida-Nolasco, 43; and Guadalupe Bastida, 47. Vera-Nolasco was arrested as she was leaving Phoenix on a plane bound for Mexico.
All four are in the country illegally and are awaiting trial.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
