Three Liquor Stores Sold Alcohol To Minors During Sting: Police

NEWTON, MA - Newton police Wednesday announced the findings of an alcohol compliance sting conducted during March and May.

Three liquor stores allegedly sold alcohol to the department's underage operatives without asking for identification, police said in a press release.

According to police, during the evening of March 17 undercover officers and underage individuals working with law enforcement visited 17 establishments that serve alcohol. The underage person went into the store and attempted to purchase alcohol; 15 of the stores asked for identification and refused to complete the sale when it was not provided, while two reportedly did not.

On May 17, police followed up with the same operation at 21 liquor stores; one allegedly did not ask for identification.

Police said in the release that the three stores were Silver Lake Liquors at 342 Watertown St.; Oakley Spa at 979 Washington St.; and Newton Warehouse Wine & Spirits at 241 Needham St.

The establishments will appear before the Newton Board of License Commissioners to discuss the violations.

In January, the Newton Police Department received funding under the Underage Alcohol Enforcement Grant Program to conduct operations to identify and deter the sale of alcohol to minors.

"While we were encouraged to find most establishments were diligent in asking for identification and refusing to sell to a young person with no identification, we are very concerned that an underage person was able to purchase alcohol at three establishments without being asked for identification," Chief David MacDonald said in the release. “We have been working with store owners for several years to ensure compliance with all alcohol laws and to strongly encourage store owners and managers to stress to their employees the importance of asking for identification before selling alcohol."