EAST COUNTY–Sheriff’s deputies and California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agents conducted a joint drunk decoy operation in Santee and Lakeside on Saturday.
A plain clothes deputy entered a licensed establishment and acted obviously intoxicated. They smelled of alcohol, stumbled into the store, slurred their speech, dropped items, and bumped into displays. They then tried to purchase alcohol.
It is a misdemeanor in California to sell alcohol to someone who is obviously drunk. If the clerk sold alcohol to the plain clothes deputy, authorities and ABC agents entered the store to explain why the decoy shouldn’t have been sold alcohol.
A total of 16 locations were visited from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the drunk decoy operation. Two businesses sold alcohol to the decoy.
The operation was for educational purposes only and no enforcement action was taken. The operation is part of a $100,000 grant the Sheriff’s Department received from ABC. These grants will continue to fund operations through June 2021. The operation was aimed at keeping the public safe from impaired drivers and preventing other alcohol-related incidents.
