NORTH COUNTY–Sheriff’s deputies and California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Agents conducted a joint drunk decoy operation in north county on Saturday.
The decoy operation was conducted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at licensed establishments in Encinitas and Solana Beach
A plain clothes deputy entered the establishment and acted obviously intoxicated. The deputy smelled of alcohol, stumbled into the store, slurred their speech, dropped items, and bumped into displays. The deputy 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, other deputies and ABC agents entered the store to explain why the decoy shouldn’t have been sold alcohol.
A total of nine locations were visited during the drunk decoy operation. Two businesses sold alcohol to the decoy.
The decoy 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 2020.
