LONG BEACH – On February 1, 2021, agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) posted a 25-day Notice of Suspension at Green Diamond Liquor on Long Beach Boulevard in Long Beach. An investigation determined that in 2019, a clerk furnished alcohol to someone under 21 years of age who was later involved in a deadly DUI crash. Green Diamond Liquor is immediately prohibited from selling alcohol until the suspension concludes on February 26, 2021.

The disciplinary action at Green Diamond Liquor follows a Target Responsibility for Alcohol-Connected Emergencies (TRACE) investigation. In December 2019, ABC agents and Long Beach Police Department officers arrested the clerk for furnishing alcohol to a minor resulting in great bodily harm or death. The clerk  is accused of selling or furnishing alcohol on Halloween in 2019 to an underage person from Long Beach who was later involved in a DUI crash and fatally struck and killed three pedestrians, including a three-year–old walking on the sidewalk near Country Club Drive and Los Cerritos Park Place in Long Beach.

“This is a very tragic example of why it is so very important for anyone selling or serving alcoholic beverages to check IDs and refuse to sell or serve anyone under 21,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “I am thankful ABC agents conduct these important investigations to help keep our communities and our families safe.”

Immediately after the crash, ABC and the Long Beach Police opened the TRACE investigation to find the source of the alcohol that was consumed by the underage driver. The cause of the crash was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department. ABC Agents conducted a series of interviews, examined evidence, and were able to determine that a Green Diamond Liquor employee furnished alcohol to the minor at the store prior to the crash.