The Douglas County Special Investigations Unit sent underage
citizens into restaurants and liquor stores on two different days
in late May, and 14 establishments were cited for selling liquor to
underage purchasers.
“We use an underage person and they go into an establishment and
attempt to buy alcohol,” Deputy Cocha Heyden said. “They’ll go in
and ask for liquor and if the waiter or waitress asks for
identification, he or she will give it to them. There’s no false
identification, they can’t lie and there’s no trickery. He or she
will produce their true identification card, which is always an
under 21 card.”
The under 21 identification cards are different from the cards
for persons over 21 years old, and the cards specifically say
“Under 21”, according to Heyden.
“After the underage person is served liquor, another officer
goes into the establishment and issues the server a ticket,” Heyden
said.
14 businesses cited
Establishments that were cited for selling liquor to underage
purchasers include:
May 19, Lone Tree – Ken’s Warehouse Liquors (Sam’s Warehouse),
7817 Park Meadows Drive
May 19, Highlands Ranch – Beau Jo’s Pizza, 2690 E. County Line
Road; Chili’s, 2070 E. County Line Road; Diamond Shamrock, 34 W.
Centennial Blvd.; Outback Steakhouse, 15 W. Springer Drive; Ruby
Tuesday, 35 W. Springer Drive; Safeway, 9255 So.
Broadway.
The Douglas Board of County Commissioners, acting as the county
liquor licensing authority, will hold a public hearing on Tuesday,
July 6, at 1:30 p.m. at 100 3rd St. in Castle Rock for the
establishments cited on May 19.
May 27, Lone Tree – Meridian Golf Club, 9742 S. Meridian Blvd.;
Lone Tree Country Club, 9808 S. Sunninigdale Blvd.
May 27, Highlands Ranch – Egg Roll King, 7414 E. County Line
Road; Links Golf Club, 5815 Gleneagles Village Parkway; Qdoba, 9364
S. Colorado Blvd., El Meson, 8510 Town Center Dr.; ABO Pizza, 2229
Wildcat Reserve Parkway.
The Douglas Board of County Commissioners has not yet set a date
for a public hearing for the establishments cited on May
27.
Liquor license
suspension
“Selling liquor to underage purchasers could result in the
establishment’s liquor license being suspended,” Heyden said. “Most
of the time, for first-time offenders, their license is suspended
for three days.”
This is the second operation the Special Investigation Unit has
run recently. In March and April of this year, six businesses that
sell alcohol received three-day liquor license suspensions for
selling liquor to purchasers under the age of 21. The
establishments were all first-time offenders.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, 21 sales out
of 68 checks, or 33 percent sold liquor to underage purchasers in
Douglas County. In Lone Tree, 6 sales out of 23 checks resulted in
citations.