A clerk at a Lake Elsinore business has been cited for selling alcohol to a minor during a decoy operation, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday.
The operation was conducted Saturday at five retail licensees in Lake Elsinore, according to Sgt. Carlos GarciaVilla. It involved minors who worked under the direct supervision of sheriff’s deputies and agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The clerk faces a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation, GarciaVilla said.
ABC will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to a minor that may include a fine, a suspension or the permanent revocation of the license.
Minor decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout California since the 1980s. When the program first began, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40% to 50%. When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has dropped in some cities as low as 10% percent or lower, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
In 1994, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that use of underage decoys is a valid tool of law enforcement to ensure that licensees are complying with the law.