In a crackdown on underage boozing, one store clerk got nabbed for selling alcohol to minors in Canyon Lake, according to a joint sting by the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies, authorities report. The bust went down last Saturday, as undercover junior agents, under the watchful eyes of law enforcement, tried their luck with the bottle at four Riverside County retailers.
This was no happy hour for the clerk who got caught slipping a drink to the undercover youths. Now facing a minimum fine of $250 and up to 32 hours of community service, this slip-up could also spell the last call for the establishment's drink-slinging days, as reported by the Riverside Sheriff's Office. ABC's got a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to serving minors, and they're not shy about dropping the hammer with a fine, license suspension, or even yanking the license altogether.
Deputy efforts didn't stop at the storefront; the crackdown spilled over to the streets with a Shoulder Tap Operation. They had minors cozy up to adults outside a Wildomar shop, batting their eyes for a buzz. The operation led to four adults cuffed and facing a hefty $1000 smackdown and a day's worth of community service for playing Santa with spirits. Drunk driving is no joke among youth and these ops are part of a long-con to pump the brakes on juvenile DUIs.
"Minor Decoy operations hold accountable those who sell alcohol to minors," ABC Director Joseph McCullough was quoted in the Sheriff's office release. Such stings have been a favorite law enforcement brew since the 1980s. What started as a sobering 40 to 50 percent violation rate in watering holes has dwindled, in some cases, to a mere trickle as low as 10 percent.
