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Mescal establishments among 12 charged with selling booze to minors
Bill Hess/Wick Communications
A dozen people were charged with providing alcohol to underage people during a sting operation Friday night, according to a Cochise County Sheriff's Office lieutenant.
The task force consisting of sheriff's deputies, Sierra Vista police officers, Arizona Department of Public Safety officers and Tombstone marshals fanned out over parts of the county, hitting 42 establishments, ranging from bars to convenience stores as part of the state's Covert Underage Buyer's Protection program, Lt. Mark Genz said.
Of the dozen people charged, five worked in Sierra Vista establishments, three in facilities south of Sierra Vista in the county jurisdiction, one in Tombstone, one in Whetstone and two in Mescal, said Genz, the Sheriff's Office's Benson-area commander.
Eight young people, who were between the ages of 18 and 20, volunteered to attempt to buy alcohol in establishments with some history of selling it to underage individuals, he said, adding that 17 plainclothes officers were involved in the sting. Although state law states young people 15 and older can be used, Genz said older teens, those who have yet to turn 21, are preferred for operations.
All establishments that sell alcohol and their employees should know the law, and that is a person has to be 21 or older, he said. Even if they are the legal age but look young, they have to be carded.
At each stop, an officer would go in and act as a customer and watch as the underage buyer, working for law enforcement, attempted to purchase alcohol, Genz said.
In 30 of the establishments it was a no sale, because clerks or bartenders took the proper steps, he said.
But in the dozen where sales were accomplished, either the clerks did not ask for identification or, if they did, still sold the alcohol anyway, Genz said, noting that led to charges being filed. The sheriff's lieutenant also noted that the underage buyers working with the task force do not use fake IDs but are required to show their real ones when asked.
The program to counter underage drinking is part of the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control, he said.
There has been an uptick in underage people being able to purchase alcohol, which concerns him, Genz said. The last time there was such a sting in the county happened in January 2007, he noted. "We may need to conduct a few more," Genz said.
Bill Hess is senior reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.
A dozen people were charged with providing alcohol to underage people during a sting operation Friday night, according to a Cochise County Sheriff's Office lieutenant.
The task force consisting of sheriff's deputies, Sierra Vista police officers, Arizona Department of Public Safety officers and Tombstone marshals fanned out over parts of the county, hitting 42 establishments, ranging from bars to convenience stores as part of the state's Covert Underage Buyer's Protection program, Lt. Mark Genz said.
Of the dozen people charged, five worked in Sierra Vista establishments, three in facilities south of Sierra Vista in the county jurisdiction, one in Tombstone, one in Whetstone and two in Mescal, said Genz, the Sheriff's Office's Benson-area commander.
Eight young people, who were between the ages of 18 and 20, volunteered to attempt to buy alcohol in establishments with some history of selling it to underage individuals, he said, adding that 17 plainclothes officers were involved in the sting. Although state law states young people 15 and older can be used, Genz said older teens, those who have yet to turn 21, are preferred for operations.
All establishments that sell alcohol and their employees should know the law, and that is a person has to be 21 or older, he said. Even if they are the legal age but look young, they have to be carded.
At each stop, an officer would go in and act as a customer and watch as the underage buyer, working for law enforcement, attempted to purchase alcohol, Genz said.
In 30 of the establishments it was a no sale, because clerks or bartenders took the proper steps, he said.
But in the dozen where sales were accomplished, either the clerks did not ask for identification or, if they did, still sold the alcohol anyway, Genz said, noting that led to charges being filed. The sheriff's lieutenant also noted that the underage buyers working with the task force do not use fake IDs but are required to show their real ones when asked.
The program to counter underage drinking is part of the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control, he said.
There has been an uptick in underage people being able to purchase alcohol, which concerns him, Genz said. The last time there was such a sting in the county happened in January 2007, he noted. "We may need to conduct a few more," Genz said.
Bill Hess is senior reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.
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