ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605060054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
When faxed the names of the clerks charged and where they worked, an ABC agent said he couldn't find out Friday whether the stores had ever been cited before.
A day after Roanoke vice detectives charged 22 store clerks with selling alcohol to underage patrons, the Alcohol Beverage Control Board came up empty when asked about the extent of the problem in the Roanoke Valley.
Robert Chapman, spokesman for the state agency in Richmond, said Friday no statistics were readily available about arrests in the area.
A local ABC agent went along one night during the month-long undercover operation, but Chapman said the Roanoke office was unaware which convenience stores had been targeted.
When faxed the names of the clerks charged and where they worked, Chapman said he couldn't find out Friday whether the stores had ever been cited before.
The agency, which is responsible for licensing and policing alcohol sales, has 19 agents in Southwestern Virginia. Convenience stores pay an annual license fee of $90 to sell beer and $175 to sell both wine and beer.
It is the ABC's policy not to conduct sting operations against the establishments it regulates, Chapman said.
"We license these places," he said. "We don't want to give the appearance of piling on or really hammering on these people."
But he said the agency makes "tons of arrests" and that cracking down on illegal sales at convenience stores is its top priority.
"We encourage any law enforcement department - be it state or local - to use any method they can" to enforce the law against illegal alcohol sales, Chapman said. "We can help or assist them in their efforts."
Alice Ratliff, who supervises the Southwestern Virginia office, would not talk about its Roanoke interdiction efforts. She referred all calls to Richmond.
Chapman noted a recently established "Cops in Shops" program in which licensed stores post signs that ABC agents or police officers are monitoring alcohol sales. In some cases, agents or officers may pose as employees, charging underage customers. There have been 135 such arrests statewide since January, he said.
ABC also offers education programs for store managers and their employees on how to check patrons for identification.
Kent Roberts, president of the Save-X Mini Marts in Roanoke, said he has participated in that ABC-sponsored program. But that did not prevent three clerks at three of his stores from being charged in the sting.
Save-X's policy is to ask anyone who looks younger than 25 to produce an I.D. Roberts said he was disappointed and surprised by the charges.
He said he has tried to educate his store managers and clerks about the proper way to sell alcohol. He even signed up for the "Cops in Shops" program six months ago, he said, but hasn't heard a word from the ABC office about bringing the program to his stores.
The ABC had not cited a Save-X Mini Mart store in Roanoke in nine years, Roberts said. There were two violations at Radford-area stores in the same period, he said.
"We take this privilege of selling alcohol seriously, and we accept the responsibility for doing it the right way," Roberts said. "But right now I have far more questions than answers" about the undercover operation.
Friday, Roanoke police released the names of the clerks charged in the sting, which targeted stores in each quadrant of the city. It was the largest such operation in recent history.
The Roanoke Vice Bureau began the sting early last month after receiving several complaints about city convenience stores. It sent in three teen-age volunteers to try to purchase beer and wine. Two were students in criminal justice classes and one was an acquaintance of a detective.
The clerks' Class 1 misdemeanor cases will be heard in Roanoke General District Court May 29. They face up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.
Each of the stores where clerks were cited faces a possible administrative citation by the ABC Board. A first offense can mean a minimum of a 10-day alcohol license suspension with a $1,000 fine or a maximum of a 30-day license suspension, Chapman said.
The severity of the punishment will depend on the circumstances of the arrest. The board sets a hearing for any administrative charge filed against a store.
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