LAKEPORT – You may have seen them – teenagers who loiter outside of a grocery or convenience store, stopping strangers to ask if they'll buy them alcohol.

They're a common scenario in the much larger problem of underage drinking, which is held as a contributing factor in violence, sexual assault and fatal collisions.

These “shoulder tap” scenarios are one way underage drinkers get their hands on alcohol, and because of that the Lakeport Police Department is targeting the behavior with the help of a new Alcoholic Beverage Control grant.

In July Lakeport Police received the grant, the stated purpose of which is to reduce the overall impact alcohol-related violations – especially related to minors – have on the community, according to Officer Destry Henderson.

Henderson wrote the successful grant application for the department's program, which is coordinated by Sgt. Kevin Odom.

The one-year, $18,508 grant will pay for enforcement operations – including paying for overtime – and new equipment, and communicating the enforcement work to the community, said Henderson.

Because Alcoholic Beverage Control has jurisdiction over all alcoholic licensees in Lake County, Henderson said operations will take place both inside and outside the city limits. “So the money's not just staying in the city.”

Over the past month Lakeport Police and Alcoholic Beverage Control have been conducting different alcoholic beverage enforcements in and around Lakeport, beginning with a Labor Day weekend surveillance operation.

In that instance, officers watched locations where alcoholic beverages were being sold. The department reported that officers cited three adults who they witnessed purchasing alcoholic beverages for minors. Four minors who were provided alcohol by the three adults were also cited.

Then, on Sept. 11, Henderson, Odom, Lt. Brad Rasmussen and three undercover Alcoholic Beverage Control agents conducted their first shoulder tap enforcement operation.

Using an underage decoy, they visited three gas stations, a convenience store, a grocery store and a drug store across a four-hour span on a Thursday evening.

The decoy waited outside of the stores and then approached adults – both men and women – to ask if they would buy her alcohol. She always offered them the money to pay for the beer.

It was at the first stop that the enforcement's only arrest of the night took place.

There, 49-year-old Jaime Mier was heading into the store when the young woman approached him to make her request for beer. He obliged, returning with a six pack of Bud Light.

As soon as he handed off the beer and the change, the undercover agents, quickly followed by Odom, moved in to arrest Mier. He was cited and released outside of the store.

Mier signed a citation in which he promised to appear in Lake County Superior Court on a misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to a person under 21.

Despite the arrest early in the evening, for the most part the decoy was turned down flat by people not willing to break the law or contribute to a harmful situation.

In several instances, store managers who found out an underage subject was trying to get people to buy her alcohol went out to tell the decoy she had to leave.

This week, officers conducted another operation in the city limits, north Lakeport and Kelseyville that included alcohol licensees inside and outside of the city limits, Henderson said.

Henderson said officers conducted a “minor decoy” operation at 13 different stores on Thursday to see if they could buy alcohol. The minor decoy targets alcohol licensed premises who sell alcoholic beverages to minors.

During the operation, two employees – one from the Valero station and the other from the USA Mini Mart – sold alcoholic beverages to the minor decoy, said Rasmussen.

Both employees were cited for a misdemeanor violation of sales of alcohol to a minor, and the stores will receive a complaint forwarded through Alcoholic Beverage Control against their alcohol license, according to Henderson. If the businesses have had violations in the past, they could be facing fines.

Henderson said the low percentage of stores that sold alcohol illegally was a good sign.

The department thanked and commended all of the adults and alcoholic licensed establishments who refused to sell alcohol to a minor, including Main Street Pizza, Konocti Gas and Mart, Two Jacks Mini Stop, Perko’s, Round Table Pizza, Hong Kong, Chevron, Fast Stop, Express Mart, Safeway, Chopsticks, Bruno’s Shop Smart and both Lakeport area Tower Marts.

In addition to shoulder taps and attempts to purchase, Henderson said officers will conduct impact inspections on businesses, where they will discuss with them any violation issues that may exist.

Another key aspect will include providing Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (or LEAD) training to businesses licensed to sell alcohol and their employees. Henderson said there are 37 alcohol licensees in the Lakeport city limits, but the training is open to all businesses throughout the county.

Earlier this month Lakeport Police held such a LEAD training; Henderson said the training was well attended, with 32 business representatives from all around the area. There are only three LEAD trainers for the entire state, so it will be early next year, likely in January, before another local training will take place.

In the months ahead, the enforcements will continue, with police looking for other ways to address illegal alcohol sales in the community.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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