Stings expose alcohol violations

By Laura Acuff (Tolentino)

Like many towns across Texas, clerks in some Brazos Valley stores continue to sell alcohol to minors -- regardless of their training, media attention and, most of all, that it's against the law.

Sgt. Randy Field, who oversees the Bryan office of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said the Brazos County area has been within 22 percent of the state compliance rate of 88 percent over the past decade, but he's hoping a multi-prong approach of education and enforcement will help discourage future underage sales.

For instance, agents with the TABC conducted undercover operations during a recent weekend and caught seven out of 27 convenience and grocery store clerks in Milam and Madison counties were willing to sell beer or wine to teenage volunteers aiding the state agency.

With 26 percent of those tried in violation, the resulting 74 percent compliance rate is lower than the state average.

"From our standpoint, we don't like to see it that high, but it's not really a surprise," Field said.

The seven store clerks who sold alcohol to teenage volunteers were charged with selling to a minor, which is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $4,000.

published in The Eagle