Selling Booze To Kids: Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Sting Nets 3 Citations

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Three people were cited over the weekend during a law enforcement sting aimed at cracking down on people who sell alcohol to minors and/or those who help kids buy booze in Lake Elsinore and Wildomar.

The "decoy operation" was conducted Saturday by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department along with agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

During the operation, underage teens "under the direct supervision of deputies and agents" tried to buy alcohol from seven retail stores in Lake Elsinore and Wildomar, according to the sheriff's department. The decoys also stood outside the businesses and asked patrons to buy alcohol for them. In the latter, the decoys let the patrons know they were underage, the department said.

A store clerk at a business in the 100 block of W. Graham Avenue in Lake Elsinore was cited for selling to an underage decoy, and two people who purchased alcohol for minors at a business in the 31000 block of Riverside Drive in Lake Elsinore were also cited, according to the sheriff's department.

The clerk who sold to the minor faces a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation, according to the sheriff's department. The other two people who were cited face a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service, the department reported.

Funding for the operation was provided by a grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control.