Dayton Boulevard Shell station owner Babubhai Patel is informed by the Red Bank Beer Board that his license to sell alcohol will be revoked for 10 days.The Red Bank City Commission, acting as the Beer Board at its Feb. 16 meeting, sent a clear message to liquor license holders in the city: Establishments caught selling alcohol to underage customers will be shown no lenience.
Two violations occurred at two different locations on Dayton Boulevard, the Shell station at 3515 and the Rite Aid Pharmacy at 4048, during a Red Bank Police Department sting operation Dec. 2. In both cases, the board decided on the maximum punishment of a 10-day suspension of their permits to sell alcohol.
The board can also give the violator the option of paying a civil penalty of up to $1,500, though it is not required to offer the option of a payout.
Shell permit holder Babubhai Patel said his son sold the alcohol to the minor, and when asked by Vice Mayor Eddie Pierce what he is doing to prevent future violations, Patel’s translator said Patel told his son to be sure to check all customers’ IDs when purchasing alcohol regardless of the person’s age.
He said in his six years as the store’s owner, he has never had an issue with underage alcohol sales.
During the commission’s work session earlier that day, Commissioner Rick Causer asked Police Chief Tim Christol if the violators are frequent offenders, and Christol responded that both are first-time offenders.
Causer said that the extensive explanation of the city’s policies on the sale of alcohol to minors that City Attorney Arnold Stulce goes over with each applicant at his or her hearing before a permit is granted should be sufficient warning of the consequences of violating those policies.
“After [listening to Stulce’s explanation], you should get the max,” he said.
Commissioner Terry Pope said that giving the violators the maximum punishment permitted would get the attention of other permit holders.
“Rite Aid is a corporation that needs to be shown a little harder message,” added Commissioner Ed LeCompte.
Both violators have seven days to appeal in Chancery Court in Chattanooga, and barring a successful appeal, the licenses will be suspended beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Rite Aid manager Bradley Cole’s attorney, J. Graham Matherne, requested proof that the undercover man participating in the sting operation at Rite Aid was indeed underage, as his client never saw the man’s ID.
At the work session prior to the beer board meeting, Christol told commissioners that the underage individuals who participated in the sting operation were older than 18 but younger than 21 and used their real IDs to purchase the alcohol. He pointed out that drivers licenses for those younger than 21 have a prominent red strip running vertically down the license that should enable a clerk to recognize the person’s underage status at a glance.
Scott Miller, the officer who organized the operation, said he saw the informant’s ID and verified that he is 19 years old and was carrying only the ID, money and a cellphone when he entered the store, and returned after purchasing a 24-ounce Redd’s Wicked Apple Ale.
Matherne said the employee who sold the alcohol to the underage customer – an employee of the store for seven years who has never been written up – was seen on store footage checking the 19-year-old’s ID and typing a number into the register. She remains adamant that she followed store policy and the mistake was a result of a system error.
Cole’s lawyer said Rite-Aid takes alcohol sales to minors seriously and corrective action, such as additional training on policies, has been taken.
The board still chose to impose the maximum penalty, and Causer added that he feels a harsh penalty is warranted in order to stress the importance that the city does not take these types of violations lightly.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.