On May 28, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office conducted a minor decoy operation. During the operation, 12 businesses were visited. Three violations occurred.

A violation occurs when the clerk sells alcohol to the minor decoy. When such a violation occurs, the clerk is issued a criminal citation for furnishing alcohol to the minor. The business could face administrative action by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which is the off-sale alcohol licensing authority.

The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office first began running minor decoy operations in 2004 after receiving a grant from the ABC. The program is intended to stress the importance for those businesses which sell alcoholic beverages to remain diligent in checking identification to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.

The sheriff’s office will continue to conduct similar operations throughout the remainder of the year.