The Conyers Police Department's Marshal Unit slammed eight different businesses with citations Friday night for selling alcoholic beverages to minors.
Conyers Police, along with the Georgia Department of Revenue, conducted the underage-drinking sting operation on 42 different businesses, including restaurants, bars, convenience stores and package stores, in the city limits.
Out of those 42, the following were cited for selling alcohol to minors: Mini Foods - 1165 Irwin Bridge Rd; Shell - 1202 West Ave; Klondike Package - 1410 Klondike Rd; Texaco Food Mart - 1801 Hwy 138; Whistle Post Tavern - 935 Railroad St; Chevron Food Mart - 1135 Sigman Rd; Hawthorn Suites - 1659 Centennial Olympic Pkwy; Los Charros - 1965 Hwy 138.
One of the establishments, Los Charros, 1965 Ga. Highway 138, was additionally cited for serving alcohol without a server permit which is required for all restaurant servers within the City of Conyers.
"We have not previously conducted a business check on a long holiday weekend, so we felt that we needed to make our presence known," said Conyers Chief of Police Gene Wilson in a press release. "We wish to remind our businesses that there are ordinances in place and they are expected to abide by them."
The operation featured two teams compromised of Conyers Police, Georgia Department of Revenue Agents and a 19-year-old, one male and one female, playing the role of the underage buyer. One team covered the northern part of the city and the other covered the southern portion.
The teams visited every convenience store in the city and randomly targeted different restaurants and bars. The entire operation was conducted from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.
"We did have an 81 percent compliance rate of the businesses we checked, and we thank those establishments for adhering to the law thus keeping our citizens safe," said Wilson.
The servers and cashiers involved in the distribution of the alcohol were cited as individuals. Wilson can choose to revoke their servers permit on a case by case basis. Since none of individuals have been cited before for selling alcohol to minors, they may face a fine and training on responsible alcohol sales and service, says CPD spokesperson Investigator Kim Lucas.
Under Georgia law, suspects caught selling alcohol to minors could receive six months in jail and up to a $300 fine.
