Three more clerks plea to beer sales
Three more clerks have entered guilty pleas to charges of selling beer to an undercover operative, bringing the total to 18 who have been sentenced for the crime.
Entering pleas Tuesday before General Sessions Judge Larry Ross were Nancy Dodson, Linda Green and Maria Guzman. Dodson and Green were both given six-month probationary sentences and were fined $750 plus costs ($940 total) for one sale, while Guzman was issued a double fine and one year on probation for making two sales to the 20-year-old operative. Their pleas mean there will be three clerks going to trial on the charge next month, as the remainder of the accused have settled their cases already.
The charges come following an undercover beer buying operation in both the city and rural areas of the county in which 22 businesses are accused of selling beer to the operative. While some businesses maintain lawmen used a youth who will turn 21 later this year, police counter by pointing out his license clearly says UNDER 21 and that most of the accused places did not even ask for identification in the first place. Lawmen also say they required the operative to be clean-shaven before the operation.
While the criminal cases work their way through the court system, numerous businesses are waiting to see what the penalty will be for violation. In the past, city businesses have been fined ($250 first offense) while those outside the city have been hit with a 90-day suspension of beer license.
And, according to Safety Committee member Sally Brock, who helps oversee beer licensing, businesses outside the city can expect the same thing this time.
“I don’t see how not to give these people 90-days suspension when we did it last time,” Brock said. “We feel like we need to do the same thing.”
The entire Warren County Commission votes on what action to take in the case of sanctions against beer licenses. Meanwhile, in the city, a citizen council beer board decides the fate of the businesses and has given businesses a choice between a fine and suspension, with everyone taking the former since it means less of an economic impact.
While almost always assessing fines, the beer board, according to city statutes, does have a choice as the law says the board “may” offer a fine as opposed to a suspension.