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Liquor laws tested

Gregory Crofton

Police tested the liquor laws Saturday night with an undercover sting at 24 South Lake Tahoe businesses. It resulted in only one ticket at My Cousins Joint for serving alcohol to a 16-year-old.

At the rest of the businesses: “Every single one of them got carded and were denied sales. They were 15 and 16 and they looked 15 and 16,” said Officer Martin Hewlett.

Hewlett and Officer Brodie Seagrave decided to tackle juvenile drinking as a COPS project, or Citizen’s Option for Public Safety. At its core, the program relies on the community participation in law enforcement.



In July, the police department sent out a letter to all businesses that serve or sell alcohol that told a sting was in the works. Hewlett said the increased law enforcement this summer dropped the department’s number of calls related to alcohol disturbances by 100.

“Our goal to decrease the problem of kids and drinking,” said Hewlett, who was satisfied that the sting produced only one violation. “It effects everybody: the juveniles themselves, their family, the community, law enforcement. Kids who drink have their grades go down, cause accidents, we’re trying to reduce all of that.”


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