In what Detective Darren Ofiara of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department called ‘disheartening,? police caught five stores in Independence Township selling alcohol to minors. The five stores were busted during a liquor sting operation conducted from the Independence Township substation on May 19.
‘The stores are going to have to push more employee training and understand the severity of the crime,? said Ofiara. ‘Our goal is to promote an understanding of the fact that selling to minors is a major problem, especially with the amount of underage drinking going on. The kids? safety is the most important thing and protecting the township.?
According to Ofiara, the ‘sting? consisted of sending a minor into 19 total area stores. As stated in reports, three of the businesses whose employees sold the alcohol asked for identification which was provided by the minor. The employees were cited for the violation.
‘They bring their proper I.D.,? said Ofiara. ‘We’re not trying to trick any of these establishments. It all boils down to their training. There’s no deception.?
Ofiara warned their would be a similar operation in the near future.
‘This time around we focused only on over the counter sales,? said Ofiara.
As reported in last week’s edition of The Clarkston News, a similar liquor operation from the Springfield substation netted two out of the seven stores. In that sting, one of the store employees also sold to the decoy after seeing the ID which listed the minor’s actual age.
Fines for selling alcohol to a minor can be as high as $1,000 and multiple offenses can jeopardize the liquor license for an establishment, states a brochure posted on-line by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission at www.michigan.gov.
The MLCC provides the following contact information to report underage sales and service: www.reportunder21.com and 1-866-893-2121.