ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605300085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
NOTE: ABove
A petite young woman wearing braces on her teeth walked into the Village Store on Roanoke's Melrose Avenue Northwest the afternoon of April 26 and placed a six-pack of Bud Lite on the counter.
Sue Peterson, who was working behind the counter that day, took one look and figured the woman was at least 21, the legal age to purchase alcohol.
Without asking for identification, Peterson sold the beer to Tonya Lightfoot - who, it turned out, was only 18.
On Wednesday, Peterson was one of 16 convenience store clerks convicted of selling alcohol to underage customers. Six cases are still pending in what Roanoke authorities say is the largest undercover crackdown on illegal alcohol sales in recent years.
The clerks received fines ranging from $29 in court costs to $250 plus court costs. Peterson, who testified that she would probably sell alcohol to Lightfoot again if she revisited her store, received the heaviest fine from General District Judge Vincent Lilley.
Even a small fine is a lot for convenience store clerks, who work for little more than minimum wage, defense attorney John Fishwick argued in another case.
"I know it is; that's why I imposed it, " Lilley responded. "My intent is to punish [the defendants], because they are the first line of defense against underage drinking."
The crackdown started earlier this year, after several residents complained to Roanoke police about stores that seemed willing to sell beer to minors. Police recruited Lightfoot and two other volunteers from a criminal justice class at Virginia Western Community College.
Police sent the students, two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old, into convenience stores with a legal license to do what many underage drinkers attempt every day - see if the clerk would sell them beer without asking for proof of age.
The three students visited 44 Roanoke stores over several weeks. At half of them, the clerks refused to sell the students beer or wine coolers. At the other 22, the clerks were charged with a Class I misdemeanor, which carries up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
While Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Nagel did not ask for jail time for any of the clerks, he warned that it will be different if any of them is charged a second time.
The stores also face administrative proceedings before the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which could suspend their licenses to sell alcohol.
Fishwick, who represented seven clerks who appeared in court Wednesday, had asked Lilley to dismiss the charges on the basis that the law was unconstitutionally vague. By making it illegal for clerks to sell alcohol to people who they "have reason to believe" are younger than 21, the law is so open to interpretation that it could encourage arbitrary enforcement, he argued.
Although Lilley did not grant Fishwick's motion, he agreed there is a "valid argument" that the law is inherently confusing because enforcement rests on each cashier's judgment.
But when it was time for the judge to make a decision on how young Lightfoot appeared in Peterson's case, he said it wasn't even close. After scrutinizing the young woman on the witness stand, Lilley said "it is absolutely clear to me that there are many reasons" why Peterson should have asked the woman for proof of age.
Peterson, who has worked for convenience stores for 30 years, said the police waited until the busiest time of day to send Lightfoot into the store. And, she testified, she usually is vigilant. "If they look young, I'll card them. I have carded 35-year-olds before."
Fishwick also raised concerns about police paying the students $20 for every time they purchased alcohol, plus another $20 for testifying in court. Such a practice might encourage the students to become overzealous in their efforts to purchase alcohol, he said.
Most of the clerks pleaded guilty under an agreement that they would receive a suspended $200 fine and pay court costs - about the amount they would receive from an eight-hour shift on the job, Nagel said.
Linda Ashwell, one of the clerks who was convicted Wednesday, said the operation has raised her awareness of the law.
"From now on," she said after the hearing, "unless they have a cane in one hand or one foot in the grave, I'm carding them."
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Lightfoot. color.by CNB