Crime & Safety

Five Caught Providing Alcohol to Minors in Decoy Operation

This is the second large sting-operation attempted by the department, using a grant from the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control

Sonoma Police staged a sting operation Saturday, Sept. 17, using minor decoys to catch a local market in the act of selling alcohol to minors.

This is the large sting-operation attempted by the department, using a which provides funds from minor decoy operations for the remainder of the calendar year.

Eleven off-sale ABC licensed establishments were visited by underage decoys who attempted to purchase alcohol. Out of the eleven, only one store sold to the underage decoys: , located on 925 Broadway. An employee was cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor, and store owner will face an additional ABC sanction.

Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The decoys also went to the front of local establishments and asked adults to purchase alcohol for them. Four subjects accepted the decoys' solicitation and purchased alcohol for the minors. All four were criminally cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.