News
Released: August 2, 2016 - Tuesday, 12:55 PM
The undercover enforcement activity utilized one underage decoy to regulate illegal sales of alcohol products by vendors to minors and resulted in one (1) retail licensee selling to an underage decoy. Additionally, thirty-one (31) arrests (citations) occurred for minors in possession of alcohol, four (4) arrests of individuals furnishing alcohol to minors, and three (3) arrests for minors in possession of false identification for purposes of acquiring alcoholic beverages. In all, a total of 37 persons were arrested/cited by ACT officers for alcohol related violations at the Mid-State Fair.
The Alcohol Compliance Team’s compliance checks focused specifically on the Mid-State Fair utilizing funding provided by a grant from ABC through its Grant Assistance Program. ABC is sponsoring compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.
Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state since the 1980’s. When the program first began, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40 to 50 percent. When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has dropped in some jurisdictions to as low as 10 percent or even below. 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.
The vendor that engaged in the illegal sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor was licensee Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ (Catering Location #17) within the California Mid-State Fairgrounds, 2198 Riverside Avenue, Paso Robles. Licensee servers with alcohol sales violations are issued a Notice to Appear and criminally prosecuted through the District Attorney’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office report of enforcement action taken against the alcohol vender will be forwarded to ABC for consideration of administrative action against the licensee.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) in coordination with ABC will continue grant funded countywide enforcement operations during the 2016/17 fiscal year. Ongoing efforts will include underage decoy operations, shoulder tap purchase attempts, and informational retailer training to enhance Alcoholic Beverage Control Act compliance through cooperative interaction between law enforcement and licensees. Members of the public or media with questions regarding the Sheriff’s ACT team’s compliance efforts are encouraged to call (805) 781-4529.
Alcohol Enforcement at Mid-State Fair
Contact: Tony CipollaPhone: (805) 781-4547Date and time of incident: 7-20-16 through 7-31-16Place of Occurrence: Mid-State Fairgrounds, Paso RoblesVictim Information: N/ASuspect Information: N/AThe San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) in cooperation with Agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) conducted alcohol compliance operations at the California Mid-State Fair throughout the fair’s duration in Paso Robles beginning July 20th and concluding on July 31, 2016.The undercover enforcement activity utilized one underage decoy to regulate illegal sales of alcohol products by vendors to minors and resulted in one (1) retail licensee selling to an underage decoy. Additionally, thirty-one (31) arrests (citations) occurred for minors in possession of alcohol, four (4) arrests of individuals furnishing alcohol to minors, and three (3) arrests for minors in possession of false identification for purposes of acquiring alcoholic beverages. In all, a total of 37 persons were arrested/cited by ACT officers for alcohol related violations at the Mid-State Fair.
The Alcohol Compliance Team’s compliance checks focused specifically on the Mid-State Fair utilizing funding provided by a grant from ABC through its Grant Assistance Program. ABC is sponsoring compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.
Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state since the 1980’s. When the program first began, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40 to 50 percent. When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has dropped in some jurisdictions to as low as 10 percent or even below. 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.
The vendor that engaged in the illegal sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor was licensee Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ (Catering Location #17) within the California Mid-State Fairgrounds, 2198 Riverside Avenue, Paso Robles. Licensee servers with alcohol sales violations are issued a Notice to Appear and criminally prosecuted through the District Attorney’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office report of enforcement action taken against the alcohol vender will be forwarded to ABC for consideration of administrative action against the licensee.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) in coordination with ABC will continue grant funded countywide enforcement operations during the 2016/17 fiscal year. Ongoing efforts will include underage decoy operations, shoulder tap purchase attempts, and informational retailer training to enhance Alcoholic Beverage Control Act compliance through cooperative interaction between law enforcement and licensees. Members of the public or media with questions regarding the Sheriff’s ACT team’s compliance efforts are encouraged to call (805) 781-4529.
