Defenses to Selling Alcohol to a Minor

My question involves criminal law for the state of: SOUTH CAROLINA

I HAVE BEEN WORKING AT THIS STORE FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS. IT IS A CONVENIENT STORE AND ON THE OTHER SIDE ITS A LIQUOR STORE. TE LIQUOR STORE STAYS LOCKED UNTIL SOMEONE COMES IN AND LETS THE EMPLOYEES THERE THAT THEY NEED TO GO IN THERE. IN THIS DAY, THERE WAS ONLY 2 PEOPLE WORKING. MYSELF AND ANOTHER GUY. WE WHERE REALLY BUSY, HE WAS MAKING SOMEONE SOME FOOD, SO I WENT TO THE LIQUOR STORE FOR ONE OF OUR REGULAR CUSTOMERS. WHILE I WAS IN THERE, THIS OTHER GUY WALKS IN AND BUYS A SMALL BOTTLE OF LIQUOR. WHEN I WAS HIRED, I WAS TOLD THAT I DID NOT NEED TO ASK FOR ID, I JUST HAD TO ASK THEM HOW OLD THEY ARE AND SUPPOSEDLY THE PERSON IS LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO TELL THE TRUTH IF THEY ARE SENT IN BY THE POLICE AS A STING OPERATION. I AASKED HIM HOW OLD HE WAS, AND HE REPLIED THAT HE WAS 24. I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HIM AGAIN. THEN ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER, TWO POLICE COME IN AND ASK FOR MY ID AND TELL ME THAT I JUST SOLD ALCOHOL TO A MINOR. I WAS SHOCKED. I TOLD THEM THAT I ASKED THE BOY HOW OLD HE WAS AND HE SAID HE WAS 24. THE POLICE THEN REPLIED TO ME THAT HE WASNT WEARING A WIRE AND HE WAS ONLY 19 AND THAT THE POINT IS THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE I STILL SOLD IT TO HIM. THEN, I WAS TOLD BY SOME ONE ELSE THAT WHEN THE POLICE SET YOU UP LIKE THIS, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO COLLECT THE ALCOHOL AS SOON AS THE PERSON LEAVES THE STORE. WELL, ME AND MY BOSS WATCHED THE STORE VIDEO, AND THE BOY GOT INTO HIS CAR LEFT THE PARKING LOT IN ONE DIRECTION, AND THEN THE POLICE CAME LATER FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. ANOTHER FLAW IN THIS IS THE DATE ON THE TICKET IS WRONG. I AM JUST WONDERING IF I HAVE A CASE TO CONTACT AN ATTORNEY OR SHOULD I JUST GO THROUGH WITH A PTI PROGRAM TO GET IT OFF MY RECORD OR SHOULD I JUST PAY THE FINE AND LEAVE IT ON MY RECORD. I WENT TO COURT, AND THEY SAID THE FINE COULD BE UP TO $475 TO LEAVE IT ON MY RECORD. THE PTI PROGRAM IS GOING TO COST $635 PLUS 60 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND IT WILL EXPUNGE THE MISDEMEANER OFF OF MY RECORD. I THINK THE POLICE ARE WRONG IN THIS BUT THEN AGAIN, I MAY BE THE ONE THAT IS WRONG. I KNOW I AM GUILTY BECAUSE I SOLD IT TO HIM, BUT I AM WONDERING IF THEY DID THIS THE COMPLETELY LEGAL WAY. OH, AND ANOTHER THING, WHEN THEY WROTE ME THE TICKET, I NEVER DID ACTUALLY GET TO SEE THE BOYS ID OR HOW OLD HE WAS. THEIR RESPONSE WAS, "HE WAS DEFINITELY UNDERAGE, BECAUSE WE SENT HIM IN THERE." IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, I WOULD GREAT;Y APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL ADVICE! THANKS AND GOD BLESS!

I am TIPS Certified in the State of Michigan. My job was to provide samples in retail stores. I was to card EVERYONE - literally even my own mother.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

Were any of these people who kept giving you really bad advice attorneys? All this "someone told me" doesn't mean jack if they don't know what they're talking about. Trust and believe that if the police sent someone in there to make a controlled buy, it is GUARANTEED that the person is under 21. That's the purpose of doing them so they can catch people who sell alcohol to minors.

What the police did was perfectly legal. Frankly, your boss should be more concerned about your state Alcoholic Beverage Commission. When I lived in Tennessee, the ABC in my county was constantly on the watch for underage sales. Problem stores got shut down-permanently in some cases. The reputable licensees were pretty hard nosed, too as our ABC published the list of offending establishments in the daily paper weekly. One of the regional convenience store chains had a zero tolerance company policy-any employee caught selling alcohol to minors (either in a controlled buy or by management) was subject to immediate termination and the stores were posted with signs to that effect.

Your states Dram Shop laws (if any) could come into play if you had sold to someone intoxicated or underage and they had an accident after the purchase was made. In other words, you sold to Joe Blow at 10:30, he crashed his car into another vehicle at 11:00, seriously injuring or killing a person....guess who could be sued....the store, and the clerk that sold to this person...

OP, how old were you at the time?

I ask because the whole "you have to card" thing has been so ingrained in our society that it should have been automatic. I'm baffled. Truly baffled.

Here's the section of the SC law that applies:

SECTION 61-4-50. Sales to underage persons.

(A) It is unlawful for a person to sell beer, ale, porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage to a person under twenty-one years of age. A person who makes a sale in violation of this section, upon conviction:

(1) for a first offense, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both; and

(2) for a second or subsequent offense, must be fined not less than four hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

(B) Failure of a person to require identification to verify a person's age is prima facie evidence of the violation of this section.

(C) A person who violates the provisions of this section also is required to successfully complete a DAODAS approved merchant alcohol enforcement education program. The program must be a minimum of two hours and the cost to the person may not exceed fifty dollars.

Turn your caps lock off. You're engaging in the internet equivalent of shouting, and that's not cool.

Quote:

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THE PTI PROGRAM IS GOING TO COST $635 PLUS 60 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND IT WILL EXPUNGE THE MISDEMEANER OFF OF MY RECORD.

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A criminal charge of this magnitude on your record can interfere with future employment.

Quote:

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I THINK THE POLICE ARE WRONG IN THIS BUT THEN AGAIN, I MAY BE THE ONE THAT IS WRONG. I KNOW I AM GUILTY BECAUSE I SOLD IT TO HIM, BUT I AM WONDERING IF THEY DID THIS THE COMPLETELY LEGAL WAY. OH, AND ANOTHER THING, WHEN THEY WROTE ME THE TICKET, I NEVER DID ACTUALLY GET TO SEE THE BOYS ID OR HOW OLD HE WAS. THEIR RESPONSE WAS, "HE WAS DEFINITELY UNDERAGE, BECAUSE WE SENT HIM IN THERE."

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You aren't entitled to see his ID after the fact. The truth of the matter is that you got caught by a very common - and expected! - sting operation. The cops did what they were supposed to. You are required by law to ask for ID, and you weren't doing it.

Take the training, pay your fines, do your community service, and ASK FOR ID, even if it's your Grampy looking for a bit of Scotch.

I would also recommend, if you are going to work in an environment that requires checking ID for alcohol purchases, to attend a TIPS or TAMS class....it's $70 or less usually....and employers and their insurance companies really like it since it reduces the risks of selling to minors or intoxicated people.

Yes, there will always be someone who will be mad at your or curse at you (been there, done that)...but I consider it Covering My Ass. Yes, I've carded an 89 year old.

TIPS/TAMS will teach you:

- How to spot fake ID's.
- How to match the face of the purchaser with the face and info on the ID.
- How to correctly read a foreign passport (try doing an alcohol sampling event on a major college campus....)
- How to spot intoxicated persons and deny them sales/service
- Dram Shop Laws/Your states alcohol laws.

In South Carolina you will be required, if you choose to keep on selling alcoholic beverages, to attend an DAODAS approved merchant alcohol enforcement education program. The program must be a minimum of two hours and the cost to the person may not exceed fifty dollars.

If you take the time to read through the SC law section, 61-4-50, sales to underage persons You will find under what authority the police had to operate the sting operation that caught you violating the law.

I worked for 3 years as a liquor enforcement agent for the Ohio Department of Liquor Control and you would be surprised (maybe not) of how many claimed the sting/enforcement action was illegal.