4 People Who Sold Alcohol To Young Buyers Ticketed, Sheriff Says

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — Four local alcohol retailers sold to a person younger than 21 years during a Jan. 30 decoy operation led by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Alcohol and Tobacco Compliance Units. In such operations, deputies supervise a young person as they attempt to purchase alcohol or tobacco in order to determine which establishments may not be routinely checking for IDs, said Lt. Roy A. Morales in a statement.

Black Point Market and Lago Di Como in Live Oak sold alcohol to the decoy, as did Upper Crust Pizza and Golden Fu Wah in Soquel, Morales said. Twenty other establishments tested throughout the county did not sell alcohol or tobacco to the decoy.

The store employees who sold to the decoy were given misdemeanor tickets for selling alcohol to an underage buyer and given a court date, Morales said.