Nine individuals from eight different locations around the Athens area were arrested for the illegal sale of alcohol to a person under the age of 21, the Athens Police Department released Wednesday, July 24.
“The purchase of alcohol by someone under the legal age limit is a serious issue that we don’t want to take lightly,” Athens Police Chief Anthony Pressnell told The News Courier on Wednesday. “The parents were the ones who brought this to our attention, and it’s our job to enforce the law and send the message that this is not acceptable in our community.”
The department received numerous complaints from concerned parents and citizens during the past few months about the illegal sale of alcohol to minors at local convenience stores, according to the release.
“I’ve personally had several parents approach me with information about underage kids buying alcohol at different establishments here in the city,” Pressnell said.
With those complaints, the Athens Police Department conducted surveillance on several reported locations. According to the release, law enforcement utilized an underage source to conduct controlled purchases of alcohol beginning at the first week of July.
“We investigated some places that we didn’t have complaints on, just to make sure they were in compliance with the law,” Pressnell said. “Obviously some were not in compliance, but we had a lot of places refuse to sell.”
The release emphasized that a majority of convenience stores located within the city of Athens did deny the sale of alcohol to the underage source.
The sale of alcohol to a person younger than the legal age limit is a first-degree misdemeanor that can carry with it a maximum penalty of a six months imprisonment and/or a monetary fine. The purchase, possession or consumption of alcohol by an individual before their 21st birthday can also have the same punishments.
“The risks that can be associated with these sales can lead to very dangerous situations,” Pressnell said. “These are already drivers that are new to the roadways, add alcohol to that and you get DUIs that can be not only hazardous but deadly.”