Dec. 19, 2013. Boone Police and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) teamed up with the Watauga Youth Network to conduct compliance checks on establishments in Boone that are licensed to sell alcohol. The purpose of compliance checks are to ensure that businesses are not selling alcohol to persons under the age of 21, which is prohibited by state law.
This is the second round of compliance checks this year. The overall result during the first compliance checks that were conducted in July and August of this year showed that 16 percent of Boone establishments permitted to sell and/or serve alcohol, consisting of bars, restaurants, and stores, sold to a person under the age of 21. There are no tricks in this type of enforcement. An underage person is sent into an establishment with a valid form of identification that clearly indicates that the person is under the age of 21.
In this round of compliance checks, Lieutenant Danny Houck, assisted by officers of the police department, and a DPS agent led the effort, checking 47 establishments that are licensed to sell alcohol by the State of North Carolina. Since this is the time of year for report cards, we made up one showing the percentage of establishments passing the compliance check test:
- Stores – 76 percent passing
- Restaurants – 90 percent passing
- Bars – 50 percent passing
“Unfortunately, in spite of previous enforcement efforts and education efforts we had more establishments fail the test this time. Obviously, bars had the worst results with some bars failing the test last time and this time. This is simply unacceptable and we are terribly disappointed, particularly with some of the bars. We will continue our efforts, and the ABC Commission will be notified of the violations. We would like to thank the majority of the businesses who conduct their alcohol sales responsibly. We would also like to thank our community partner WYN for their continued support, and the Department of Public Safety for joining our effort to help keep our community safe. We still remember young people like Tyler Blalock, who died in our community and work to prevent further tragedies,” said Boone Police Chief Dana Crawford.
Watauga Youth Network is responsible for the Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention (WSAP) program that partners with the community to prevent and reduce the misuse of alcohol, marijuana, and prescription medication by youth through awareness, advocacy, and action. WSAP is a data driven, evidenced based, multi-sector coalition with a goal to reduce youth substance use and abuse in Watauga County, North Carolina.
“Compliance checks are not just an enforcement operation, but an effective strategy in reducing underage drinking because they ultimately reduce access to alcohol by our community’s youth by decreasing alcohol availability,” said Hollie Wilcox, Community Prevention Coordinator for Western Youth Network, Inc.
The supervisory agent in charge of the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division of the North Carolina DPS affirmed their commitment to assist law enforcement and community efforts to ensure that businesses are complying with state laws and other regulatory requirement for permitted establishments.
NC Alcohol Law Enforcement works closely with the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to monitor permitted establishments and enforce North Carolina’s ABC laws. Last year in North Carolina we lost approximately one life per week due to underage drinking. NCALE, NCABCC and the Office of the Governor take underage drinking very seriously. We applaud Boone Police Department for taking a proactive approach to combat the problem and for inviting ALE to assist with their initiative.
Special Agent in Charge Stacy Cox
The following establishments had an employee sell alcohol to a minor during these compliance checks ranging from Nov. 27 to Dec. 14, 2013:
- Wilco Hess 1256 Blowing Rock Road
- Kangaroo 1220 West King Street
- Wilco Hess 2702 Highway 105 South
- Ingles 2575 Highway 105 South
- Kangaroo 2200 US Highway 421
- Walgreen’s 2184 Blowing Rock Road
- Hunan’s Chinese Restaurant 214 Southgate Drive
- Appalachian Brewery 163 Boone Creek
- Parthenon 455 Blowing Rock Road
- Klondike 441 Blowing Rock Road
- Macado’s 539 West King Street
- Murphy’s 747 West King Street
- Galileo’s 1087 West King Street
The following persons were charged as a result of this operation:
- Wilco/ Hess located at 1256 Blowing Rock Rd. Dakota Rae Russell, age 19 of Boone NC> Charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Kangaroo located at 1220 West King St. Rex Daniel McQueen, age 60, 153 North St. of Boone NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Wilco/ Hess located at 2702 NC Hwy 105. Justin Travis Shepard, age 26, of Zionville, NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Ingles located at 2575 NC Hwy 105. Kelsey Nicole Greene, age 19 of Boone NC will be charged on 12/23/2013 (she is currently out of town) with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Kangaroo located at 2200 US Hwy 421 North. Oscar Earl Toliver Jr, age 62 of Boone NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Walgreen’s located at 2184 Blowing Rock Rd. Magean Dollie Craig , age 23 of Lenoir NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Hunan’s located at 214 Southgate Dr. Junxia Wang, age 44 of Boone NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Appalachian Brewery located at 163 Boone Creek Dr. Luke Wesley Danner, age 24 of Asheville NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Parthenon located at 455 Blowing Rock Rd. Holly Nicole Wright, age 19 of China Grove NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Klondike Café located at 441 Blowing Rock Rd. Micah Elizabeth Galloway, age 22 of Lenoir NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Macado’s located at 539 West King St. Tyler Steven Gordon, age 22 of Pinehurst NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Murphy’s Pub located at 747 West King St. Kaycee Danielle Brown, age 23 of Wilkesboro NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
- Galileo’s located at 1087 West King St. Emily Suzanne Dinkins, age 23 of Lewisville NC was charged with selling malt beverage to a person who at the time was less than 21 years old.
NCALE offers free training to anyone holding an ABC permit and also speaks with civic groups and schools. Please contact the District VII Office to schedule a program or report violations at: 828-466-5550. — Special Agent in Charge Stacy Cox, 301-10th St NW, Suite E-102, Conover, NC 28613