Authorities Saturday revealed the results of a sting operation aimed at catching retailers selling alcohol to minors and adults buying it for them.
San Diego County sheriff’s deputies on Thursday joined agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in sending a pair of minors to purchase alcohol at five retailers, according to the sheriff’s department.
The locations were in Encinitas and Solana Beach.
Part of the operation was conducted in front of two liquor stores, where a minor under the supervision of an officer indicated an inability to purchase alcohol and asked an adult to make the transaction. One of the locations sold alcohol to a minor decoy, the department reported.
Seventeen adults were contacted, and two made a purchase on behalf of the minor, per the department. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
One adult, after driving to a location, was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, the department said.
The ABC conducts compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Statistics have shown that people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.
In July 2023, the sheriff’s department received a $75,000 Alcohol Policing Partnership grant. The funds were spent to reduce alcohol-related crimes and to educate ABC-licensed businesses, according to the department.
Authorities urged anyone with information on licensed liquor establishments providing alcohol to minors to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580- 8477.
– City News Service
