REDDING – On November 5, 2020, four clerks working at various businesses in Anderson were cited for selling alcohol to a customer under the age of 21.  The customer was actually a decoy working under the supervision of California Alcoholic Beverage Control (CABC) agents and Redding Police Department officers.

“ABC agents work decoy operations up and down the state to identify and site those clerks who are not careful about checking IDs,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “Selling alcohol to a minor can lead to so much more than underage drinking.  It can lead to DUIs, vehicle accidents, physical and sexual assaults and poor decision-making.”

Store employees who sell alcohol someone under 21 face a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation.  In addition, ABC will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to someone underage.

During the Minor Decoy operation, the following four store clerks were cited for selling alcohol to a minor:

• Jeannie Larue, 48, of Redding, at the Valero on North St.
• Nicholas Gill, 20, of Redding, at the Arco AM/PM on Rhonda Rd.
• Gregory Conrotto, 60, of Red Bluff, at the Mike’s Food and Fuel on Ox Yoke Rd.
• Merrie Johnson, 43, of Anderson, at the 711 on North St.

ABC is conducting the compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors.  Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.