REDDING – On January 16, 2026, the Redding Police Department, which conducts Minor Decoy operations with California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents, sent a decoy under-the-age- of-21 into 28 businesses in Redding to check compliance.  The decoy attempted to purchase alcohol at each location.  All but one clerk checked the decoy’s identification and denied the sale.  A store clerk at a Raleys Market allowed the sale of alcohol to the underage decoy.

Store employees who sell alcohol to a minor 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 a minor. That may include a fine, a suspension or the permanent revocation of the license.

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.

“Thank you to the clerks who verified the decoy’s age before allowing any purchase, our thanks to the volunteers who work as decoys, and to Redding PD and ABC for conducting these operations.  These operations help to keep all of us safer out on the roadways and in our communities,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.