Six Arrested in Local Sting Operation

Six people were arrested and charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor during a joint minor decoy/shoulder tap operation with Redlands Police and state Alcoholic Beverage Control officers Saturday, Jan. 24. Police conducted operations, all aimed at reducing the accessibility of alcohol to minors, at 13 locations throughout the city. Under the shoulder tap operation, a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer stood outside a liquor or convenience store and asked patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicated in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol. If the adults agreed to purchase alcohol for the minor, officers then arrested and cited them for furnishing alcohol to the minor. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. During the operation, police cited 49-year-old John White of Redlands, who purchased alcohol for the minor decoy. ABC agents and local law enforcement conducted the minor decoy operation, which also used minors under the direct supervision of a peace officer to enter a licensed establishment and attempt to buy alcohol. During the decoy operation, minor decoys were required to answer truthfully if asked their age and provide valid identification indicating they were underage to buy alcohol. In addition to individual charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor, businesses can face possible fines or license suspensions from ABC. Police and ABC agents cited five people during the minor decoy operation, including 22-year-old Briana Reink, of Redlands at Johnny’s Tacos, 1756 E. Lugonia Ave.; Anthony Theodoridis, 44, of San Bernardino, at Wild Donkey Brewery, 2351 W. Lugonia Ave.; Larissa Pryor, 30, of Highland, at Chili's, 10020 Alabama St.; Yazan Dabbas, 20, of Redlands, at Venezia Pizza, 1790 E. Lugonia Ave.; and Alexander Ridder, 20, of Redlands, at Venezia Pizza. Additionally, during the shoulder tap operation, police arrested 47-year-old Michael Deatherage, a local transient, for warrants, public intoxication and petty theft when he took the decoy's money, bought beer for himself, and walked away without returning the money or furnishing the beer to the decoy at an AM/PM on West Redlands Boulevard. The operations are completed with moneys from an $18,600 grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for the Redlands Police Department to conduct undercover and decoy operations targeting businesses and individuals who provide or serve alcohol to minors, businesses that over-serve alcohol or provide narcotics and use of false identifications and to fund inspections and community education efforts for ABC-licensed businesses. The grant also provides funding for Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol-Related Crime Tendencies (IMPACT) inspections Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) classes for ABC-licensed businesses. Training is conducted by ABC’s Training/LEAD unit. The grant funding runs through Sept. 30, and covers officer overtime and equipment purchases. This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor Decoy/Shoulder Tap Grant Project, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.