The St. Mary’s County Alcohol Beverage Board Thursday concluded its hearings against license holders charged with selling to underage police informants during a two-day sting operation this past summer.
Fines were imposed on the final two of the ten establishments charged of the 43 visited on July 31 and August 1. The two establishments represented polar opposites: one was a large national chain and the other a small country store. The board, as it had done for the other eight during their September meeting, fined Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar in California and Boatman’s Mini Mart in Oakville each $1,000, but suspended $500 if they don’t have any other violation within three years. The Buffalo Wild Wings decision was unanimous but there was one dissenting vote on the Boatman’s case.
Both businesses admitted that they had in fact sold to the underage operatives.
In the case of Buffalo Wild Wings it was a draft Bud Light sold to a 19-year-old female who was not carded. Corporate representatives of the national chain along with the local manager and several employees appeared at the hearing. Their attorney, Linda Curtis and several of the national representatives told of the chain’s exhaustive procedures to assure that under-age sales do not occur. That includes one-on-one counseling every shift. That counseling did occur on the day of the sale with the employee who made the sale, who was fired as the result of the incident. The employee will also face criminal charges in court. “We are very apologetic that this incident occurred,” Curtis said.
Board Chairman Moses Saldana, Jr. admitted the Boatman case was somewhat unique, in that the clerk at the store refused a sale to the 20-year-old male attempting to buy a six-pack after he was carded. But the informant alleges he went outside and an adult offered to buy for him, went inside and a discussion occurred with the clerk in which she allegedly admitted knowing what was happening. The sale occurred and the six-pack was turned over to the informant.
Owner Scott Boatman testified that his clerk denied that she knew the sale was being made through a surrogate. He said she was a loyal employee and he would like to believe her but also said he had no evidence to refute the statement of facts presented by board attorney Joann Wood, so he admitted the charges.
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