BARRINGTON — Two local teenagers went to a Providence liquor store and bought the alcohol that played a role in the car crash that killed 17-year-old Jonathan Converse this month, the police said yesterday.

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

S&M Liquors, Providence.

The two juveniles, whose names were not released, will soon appear in Family Court to face charges of possession of alcohol by a minor, the police said. The person who allegedly sold the alcohol to the Barrington teens, ages 16 and 17, will be charged in a related case in Providence.

In another development yesterday, prosecutors filed a motion in Family Court seeking to prosecute the driver of the car as an adult. The 16-year-old, whom authorities have not identified, drank six beers and was driving 60 to 65 mph in a 25-mph zone, according to prosecutors.

He has been charged in Family Court with driving to endanger, death resulting and refusing to submit to a chemical test. The attorney general’s office has subpoenaed the driver’s medical records to determine if he was under the influence of alcohol.

“I never make the decision to try to waive a juvenile lightly because I believe in the rehabilitative power of our juvenile justice system and of kids themselves,” Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said in a statement. “I didn’t make this decision lightly, but I make it resolutely. How many teenagers have to die before Rhode Island, collectively, grasps the fact that reckless and irresponsible behavior often results in human misery?”

The motion filed by prosecutors could result in the boy being sentenced as an adult but held in the juvenile system until he reaches the age of 18.

Barrington Police Chief John M. LaCross praised the community for its help as he announced that S & M Liquors, on Douglas Avenue, and the two boys who bought the alcohol, had been implicated in the case.

“The cooperation among the parents and the youth of this community, to come forward and speak the truth, has enhanced this investigation and is greatly appreciated,” he said in a statement.

Detective Josh Birrell brought the information about S & M Liquors to Providence police, who then sent a minor into the store at 187 Douglas Ave. The youth was able to buy beer. At the same time, the police saw an under-age Massachusetts teen purchase vodka.

The clerk, Shawn Merilan, 37, of 491 Douglas Ave., has been summoned to appear in District Court, Providence, on two counts of selling liquor to a minor. State incorporation papers identify Merilan as the president of SNM Liquors Inc.

Birrell said that Merilan has not been charged with selling liquor to the two Barrington youths. That would be a decision Providence police would have to make, he said.

“That’s their jurisdiction,” he said. Providence’s assistance on the case was “fantastic,” he said, and the “focus was to verify that the liquor store was selling to under-age persons.”

Meanwhile, the two Barrington youths have been notified that they will be petitioned to Family Court on charges of possessing the alcohol that those involved in the crash drank that night.

“We believe the occupants in that vehicle consumed alcohol that was purchased at SNM Liquors,” Birrell said.

Prosecutors said in court earlier this month that on the afternoon of Nov. 5, the driver of the car, four boys and a girl gathered in the back yard of the driver’s house. They pitched in money and later a 30-pack of Busch Light “was delivered” to the house, said Assistant Attorney General Susan Urso. The teens hung out between 6 p.m. and 9 or 9:30 p.m., she said, noting that the girl did not drink.

Four boys left to go to Taco Bell and, on their way back, came to a stop sign on New Meadow Road. The driver “burned rubber” while turning right, said Urso, and then used the steering to recklessly shimmy the car back and forth. The car reached 60 mph before it crossed the street and slammed into a tree.

The police detected an odor of alcohol on the driver while he was being rescued from the wreck of the car, prosecutors said.

In October 2006, the Providence Board of Licenses held a hearing on police allegations that S & M Liquors had repeatedly sold liquor to minors during an investigation. It could not immediately be determined what action, if any, the board took.

That same month, the police charged Merilan with selling liquor to a minor. The case was later dismissed. This August, Merilan pleaded no contest to selling unstamped cigarettes. He was fined and ordered to pay court costs.

rsalit@projo.com