Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Maria Police Department
On Saturday, 08/11/2018, the Santa Maria Police Department conducted an ABC “Shoulder Tap” operation throughout the City of Santa Maria. These program are designed to reduce youth access to alcoholic beverages. These type of operations are conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state.
During the “Shoulder Tap” operation, a minor decoy under the direct supervision of officers, attempts to get person(s) from the community to purchase alcoholic beverages from an ABC licensed establishments within our city. This operation was attempted at six different locations of “off-sale establishments” in the City of Santa Maria. Out of twenty-one individuals contacted during the operation two suspects purchased an alcoholic beverage for the seventeen year old minor decoy. After purchasing alcohol for the minor decoy, the suspects were contacted and arrested and charged for purchasing an alcoholic beverage for a minor. During the investigat ion it was discovered that one of the suspects had a misdemeanor arrest warrant for charges of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. This suspect was cited for purchasing alcohol for the minor decoy and booked on the warrant charges. The other suspect was issue a citation at the scene for purchasing alcohol for the minor decoy and was also cited for driving a motor vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.
During the operation a third suspect was contacted and issued a citation for consumption of an alcoholic beverage on private property open to the public.
The following suspects were arrested and/or cited:
Vazquez, Antonio Dominguez 33 years old of Santa Maria
Charges: Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor and booked on a misdemeanor warrant.
Becerra, Phillip Saldana 35 years old of Santa Maria
Charges: Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor and Driving with a Suspended Driver’s License.
Valencia, Gabriel Rojas 65 years old of Santa Maria
Charges: Consumption of an Alcoholic Beverage on Private Property Open to the Public.
These type of programs are intended to reduce the availability of alcoholic beverages to minors; statistics show that teens have a greater rate of drunken driving crashes than adults.
Funding for these programs are provided by the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) by A.P.P. (Alcohol Policing Partnership) grant which was awarded to the Santa Maria Police Department in conjunction with the Guadalupe Police Department for these types of operations.
