CHRIS’ OUT-OF-CONTROL DRINKING
newsflash Chris Soules’ previous heavy boozing is revealed as a bartender tells In Touch she saw the former Bachelor down five drinks and three shots in four hours
He was ready to let loose. On April 6, around 8:30 p.m., Chris Soules walked into the Franklin Hotel bar in Strawberry Point, Iowa, with a group of friends. Over the course of the night, “He had ordered five Jack and Coke doubles, and his friends had ordered him three whiskey shots with pickle juice to chase it. He drank his drinks relatively fast,” Jennifer Stover, the 24-yearold bartender who served the former Bachelor that night, tells In Touch exclusively. “They were having a great time. It was karaoke night, and a couple of guys from the group got up and sang a couple of songs. They left at 12:30 a.m., and by [that time], Chris was slurring his words.”
Less than three weeks later, his life changed forever. On April 24, on a rural road outside of Aurora, Iowa, Chris rear-ended a tractor with his 2008 Chevy pickup, killing the driver. He had been farming and posted sunset shots on Instagram in the hours before the crash. Chris was returning home when he hit the tractor. He called 911, tried to help the victim and left the scene as paramedics arrived. In the immediate aftermath of the fatal crash there was no proof Chris had been drinking. But “he’s known for drinking a lot,” Jennifer tells In Touch, adding that she was stunned by the amount of alcohol Chris consumed the night she served him. His drinking has gotten him in trouble in the past. According to court documents, the farmer has had at least 14 run-ins with the law over the years, including a DUI, driving with an open alcohol container and possession of alcohol as a minor. Now, his reputation is in tatters. The accident, which claimed the life of Chris’ 66-year-old neighbor, Kenny Mosher, has made national news and changed the public’s image of the man dubbed “Prince Farming” while looking for love on The Bachelor. After striking Kenny’s tractor around 8:20 p.m., Chris, 35, called 911, identified himself and nervously informed the dispatcher that the victim didn’t appear to be breathing. Aurora Mayor David Young showed up within minutes of the first responders and spotted beer cans on the road, but “I didn’t
see Chris,” he tells In Touch, adding that he assisted the medics in performing CPR in a desperate attempt to save Kenny’s life. “I didn’t recognize him. His hair was messed up and his glasses were off.” Meanwhile the reality star had holed up in his nearby Arlington home for nearly five hours, refusing to come out for police and reportedly telling them to contact his attorney. Finally, at 1:16 a.m., after police obtained a search warrant, he was arrested and charged with a class D felony for fleeing the scene of a fatal accident, a crime that carries a five-year prison sentence. (He posted a $10,000 bond later that day and is due back in court on May 9.) “It’s a bad situation, but Kenny’s the one who paid the price,” Richard Roepke, whose daughter is married to one of the victim’s sons, tells In Touch. “Chris made some mistakes he’ll have to deal with.”
And it could get even worse for him. If it’s determined that he was drinking at the time of the crash, he could also be charged with vehicular manslaughter. That charge carries up to 25 years in prison. Police have obtained a search warrant for the results of Chris’ blood
test, which was per- formed at a hospital after he was arrested. However, “A blood test isn’t going to be reliable,” attorney David Kubiliun, chairman of the criminal law group at Miami firm Greenspoon Marder, tells In Touch. He warns that even if Chris did have alcohol in his system, it’s nearly impossible to determine what Chris’ blood alcohol level was at the time the crash occurred: “There’s no way that argument will pass in court.”
Chris isn’t taking any chances. He’s hired well-known Hollywood publicist Stan Rosenfield (whose famous clients include George Clooney and Robert De Niro) and a high-profile legal team made up of Iowa defense attorneys Alfredo Parrish, Brandon Brown and Gina Messamer. They tried to get a gag order on the case and have filed a motion to dismiss.
The case has polarized Chris’ small town. “Everyone is struggling,” family member Roepke tells In Touch. “This is a very tragic loss, and the family is trying to deal with that.” Chris and his family stayed away from Kenny’s funeral ( below), possibly, in part, because they have found themselves under attack. Lori Baumgartner, who is friends with Chris’ dad, Gary, tells In Touch, “Everyone’s talking about it and gossiping. There have been loads of awful comments on Facebook about the family and negativity about Chris around here.” ◼