Police Sting: Buying Booze For Minor Leads To 3 Citations In Redlands

REDLANDS, CA — A joint sting operation last week between Redlands police and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control resulted in three people being cited for buying alcohol for someone under the age of 21.

The Dec. 1 sting, dubbed "Shoulder Tap," used an 18-year-old male as the decoy. Under law enforcement supervision, the teen stood outside of liquor stores and convenience stores and asked customers to buy him alcohol, according to a news release from the Redlands Police Department.

The minor told the customers — 20 in total — that he was underage. Three customers agreed to buy alcohol and were subsequently cited, the police department reported.

"If an adult agrees to purchase alcohol for the underage person, they can be arrested and cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service," according to the police department.

“Underage drinking harms our community. Preventing the sale of alcohol to minors will help to increase public safety and make our roads safer,” said Redlands Police Cpl. Michael Merriman.

“We conduct these operations to keep alcohol out of the hands of our youth,” said ABC Director Joseph McCullough. “By preventing underage drinking we can increase the quality of life in our communities and reduce DUIs.”

Funding for the operation was provided by a grant from the ABC Alcohol Policing Partnership program.