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Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Underage Drinking
“We will be attacking underage drinkers,” Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Tony Marsh said in a press
conference. While Marsh later corrected himself, saying that he meant enforcing underage drinking laws, the
point was clear: police will be cracking down on teen drinkers and those who provide alcohol for them.
The Mesa County Underage Drinking Task Force received a $40,000 grant from the federal Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The money will be used to enforce drinking age laws for the next 18 months in Mesa County.
Marsh said the grant will be used to launch a three-phase campaign against underage drinking.
The first phase of the attack, which began Nov. 2, will target liquor stores. Local law enforcement sent
undercover minors to try to purchase alcohol.
If successful, officers entered the store and issued a misdemeanor summons with up to a $5,000 fine and the
potential of shutting down the business.
The weekend of Nov. 2 at least eight summonses were issued, according to the Daily Sentinel.
According to Marsh, stings will continue to take place over the next 18 months, and the next could happen as
soon as next week.
College Liquors, 1133 Patterson Road, failed the Nov. 2 sting after an employee sold alcohol to an underage,
undercover volunteer.
Employee Jerry Dores said the store was not expecting stings to start happening so soon, but he complies
with the law and agrees with what law enforcement are doing.
“You gotta catch them somehow,” he said.
Orchard Mesa Liquors, 2706 U.S. Highway 502, also failed the sting. The employee who sold alcohol to the
undercover minor, and who asked that her name not be used, said she does not think it is fair for the police to send
undercover minors to buy alcohol.
“If (the undercover minor) is not 21, he’s not suppose to be in a liquor store, so they’re breaking their own law,” she
said.
“I think it’s good that they’re trying to stop underage drinking,” said Dan Jackson, an employee of East Valley
Liquors, a store that passed one of the stings.
“ Obviously people aren’t carding like they need to. It’s kind of a wake up call,” he said.
conference. While Marsh later corrected himself, saying that he meant enforcing underage drinking laws, the
point was clear: police will be cracking down on teen drinkers and those who provide alcohol for them.
The Mesa County Underage Drinking Task Force received a $40,000 grant from the federal Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The money will be used to enforce drinking age laws for the next 18 months in Mesa County.
Marsh said the grant will be used to launch a three-phase campaign against underage drinking.
The first phase of the attack, which began Nov. 2, will target liquor stores. Local law enforcement sent
undercover minors to try to purchase alcohol.
If successful, officers entered the store and issued a misdemeanor summons with up to a $5,000 fine and the
potential of shutting down the business.
The weekend of Nov. 2 at least eight summonses were issued, according to the Daily Sentinel.
According to Marsh, stings will continue to take place over the next 18 months, and the next could happen as
soon as next week.
College Liquors, 1133 Patterson Road, failed the Nov. 2 sting after an employee sold alcohol to an underage,
undercover volunteer.
Employee Jerry Dores said the store was not expecting stings to start happening so soon, but he complies
with the law and agrees with what law enforcement are doing.
“You gotta catch them somehow,” he said.
Orchard Mesa Liquors, 2706 U.S. Highway 502, also failed the sting. The employee who sold alcohol to the
undercover minor, and who asked that her name not be used, said she does not think it is fair for the police to send
undercover minors to buy alcohol.
“If (the undercover minor) is not 21, he’s not suppose to be in a liquor store, so they’re breaking their own law,” she
said.
“I think it’s good that they’re trying to stop underage drinking,” said Dan Jackson, an employee of East Valley
Liquors, a store that passed one of the stings.
“ Obviously people aren’t carding like they need to. It’s kind of a wake up call,” he said.
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