Six clerks charged with selling alcohol to minors

CLINTON — The Henry County Sheriff’s Department found that employees at six of 24 merchants sold alcoholic beverages to underage operatives.

The department conducted checks on businesses in Clinton, Windsor, Urich and Calhoun on Friday. Underage operatives working with the Sheriff’s Department were able to purchase alcoholic beverages from employees at Wal-Mart, Shelby's Conoco, Bullseye convenience store, DC's Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco, Faded Bar & Grill and Applebee's in Clinton.

The Sheriff’s Department issued citations and set court dates for the six offending employees. The businesses will not face criminal prosecution, but the department does pass along the information to the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

Sheriff’s Maj. Rob Hills said the state will review the noncompliant businesses’ history of violations to determine repercussions. He said the owners could face serious consequences, including fines or suspended licenses, while the employees who served the underage operative are charged with a criminal misdemeanor.

“Normally it hits the business-owner harder in the pocketbook,” Hills said.

Henry County Sheriff Kent Oberkrom said he hopes the operation emphasizes the personal responsibility of employees who sell alcohol.

“During the upcoming legislative sessions, I am hoping that steps will be taken to hold the employee or clerk of the business more accountable for their actions,” Oberkrom said in a statement.

Missouri’s Public Safety Department funded the operation through a grant focused on enforcing underage drinking laws. This is the second year the Henry County Sheriff’s Department received state funding to perform the compliance checks, which are available to any police agency in the state.

Before receiving the grants, the Henry County Sheriff’s Department infrequently conducted checks on local merchants. Now the department performs similar operations at least two times each year, Hills said. Of the operations conducted in the past two years, last week’s check found the lowest number of illegal sales.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office hosted a Dec. 3 compliance training session. In the session, 30 employees from local businesses received instruction from officials with the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control about how to handle a situation when underage people try to buy alcohol and how to recognize false forms of identification.

None of the employees cited in Friday's investigation attended the training session, Hills said.

Oberkrom said the training session proved to be beneficial, evidenced by some employees following prescribed techniques for encounters with potential underage alcohol buyers.

“During our operation, four local businesses called the Sheriff’s Office to report one of our underage operatives after they attempted to purchase alcohol,” Oberkrom said.

Hills said finding just six noncompliant businesses demonstrates the success of the department’s attempt to discourage underage drinking. The department plans to re-apply for the grant and continue conducting training sessions and compliance checks.

“This operation was our most successful because we are finding less,” Hills said. “The training sessions teach what to look for and how to spot fakes, and our numbers have started to go down.”