The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Southwest Station conducted a minor decoy operation that resulted in a citation for an adult who allegedly furnished alcohol to a minor, the agency announced Wednesday.
The operation was conducted on Tuesday at a business located in the 40000 block of Winchester Road in Temecula.
According to the sheriff’s department, a minor decoy is an operation in which a minor under the direct supervision of the department attempts to purchase alcohol from retail licensees in Riverside County.
People who sell alcohol to a minor face a minimum fine of $250 and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation. In addition, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will take administrative actions against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to a minor. This may include a fine, a suspension, or the permanent revocation of the license, according to the sheriff’s department.
In addition to the minor decoy operation, deputies also conducted a decoy shoulder tap operation in which minors attempted to have 14 adults at two different licensed retail stores furnish them alcohol. The operation resulted in one citation for an adult who allegedly furnished alcohol to a minor at a business in the 44000 block of Margarita Road.
Two other people were also arrested during the decoy shoulder tap operation on suspicion of possession of narcotics and paraphernalia.
The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum of a $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service, according to the sheriff’s department.
“Businesses should always check IDs before selling alcohol,” said ABC Director Joseph McCullough. “Preventing access to people not old enough to legally purchase alcohol improves safety on our roadways and in our communities.”
Minor decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state since the 1980s. Funding for the program was provided by a grant from ABC through the department’s Alcohol Policing Partnership program.