3 Stores Cited for Alleged Alcohol Sales to Minors

The Redondo Beach Police Department cited three businesses for allegedly selling alcohol to minors during an undercover operation, police said.

Two teams from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Police Department used underage decoys to check 25 establishment for illegal sales, said Officer Bob Remington of the Redondo Beach department.

Plainclothes officers accompanied the teenage decoys, police Explorers, to the establishments Thursday night, where the minors tried to purchase 12-packs of beer, Remington said.

Two of the stores asked for identification but then sold the liquor to a minor anyway when none was produced, and one of the businesses didn’t check a youngster’s driver’s license, Remington said.

After the sales, the undercover team returned with uniformed officers to cite the vendors, he said.

The businesses were: Jon’s Market at 3508 Aviation Blvd., Circle K at 1535 Aviation Blvd. and Paul’s Liquor at 2218 Artesia Blvd, Remington said.

Before the sting, the Police Department sent 55 letters to vendors advising them that the undercover operation would be conducted to verify compliance with state laws, he said. In the letter, owners and managers were asked to discuss state regulations with their employees and invited to contact the Police Department for more information.