Sacramento, CA | Several people busted in Sacramento and throughout California Friday purchasing alcohol for minors.
As part of a state-wide operation, agents from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) with Sacramento Police Department DUI Enforcement Officers ran sting operations throughout the day.
Several teams were in the field utilizing actual under-aged decoys who would approach individuals entering a liquor store or market, disclosed their age and asked the persons to purchase alcohol for them.
In one incident at Natomas Liquor, the sales clerk (not knowing an operation was under way) even warned the female purchaser that if she was purchasing the beer for minors not to do it; she made the purchase any way and gave the beer to the decoy minors waiting outside the store.
When the officers moved in for the bust, the woman attempted to explain her actions away but was advised by agents that the entire thing was recorded as the cuffs went on.
Sergeant Andrew Pettit, Public Information Officer for the Sacramento Police Department stated that this is a misdemeanor offense. As long as today’s arrestees did not have other wants or warrants outstanding, they were cited and released to appear in court at a later date to answer for their actions. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
Pettit stated that this is an annual operation around Saint Patrick’s Day and other targeted holidays. The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. According to the American Medical Association, underage drinking can increase chances of risky sexual behavior and teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, compromise health, and result in unintentional injury and death according to SacPD.
Per SacPD, the local task force investigated 12 random locations within Sacramento. Eleven individuals were cited for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors and one subject was arrested for an outstanding felony warrant. The operation was conducted statewide for the first time ever and resulted in over 390 arrests.
Many local operations were funded by the California Alcoholic Beverage Control through the department’s Grant Assistance Program (GAP), and some were funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). ABC is a Department of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, according to a SacPD press release Saturday.
VIDEO/ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: Sergeant Andrew Pettit, SacPD PIO talks about the operation>>
