ALE Sees Drop in Citations During Sting

The number was a significant drop from the 68 violations handed out during a similar effort this time last year.

Operation Back to School sent four undercover ALE agents and several uniformed Chapel Hill police officers to local grocery stores, convenience marts and bars to apprehend minors attempting to purchase or consume alcohol.

ALE Agent William Stanley said this year's operation, which lasted all weekend, indicated that efforts to curb underage drinking in the last year have been successful.

"This is a big reduction from last year, which hopefully shows that the training and word is getting out that this is just not acceptable to society," Stanley said. "We love to go out and see that people are complying with the law."

Among the 20 citations given this weekend, one of the largest busts in terms of quantity of alcohol seized involved Gregory Wilson of 230 Granville Towers East.

Wilson, a UNC sophomore, was charged with one misdemeanor count of obtaining alcohol with a fictitious ID and one misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting another minor.

Agents seized three cases of Budweiser and two 12-packs of Busch Light from Wilson at 12:10 a.m. Monday in the Granville Towers parking lot.

Wilson refused to comment on the charges.

Jeremy Kidd, 21, of Pittsboro was also checked for identification by Stanley early Monday morning. Kidd was stopped in the Granville Towers parking lot en route to Fraternity Court with a six-pack of Miller Lite.

Even though he said it was justified for Stanley to check his identification, Kidd said he did not agree with agents going undercover.

"Going undercover is just not fair for the person because they often just judge people by the way they look," Kidd said. "If you're going to set up a random ID then you should be up front about it."

Stanley said the reason agents work undercover has more to do with safety and less with actual secrecy.

"The reason we go undercover and conceal our weapons is for officer safety due to the fact that when people are consuming alcohol you never know how they will react," Stanley said. "We're not trying to elude people or fool them."

In determining the agent's location during stings like Operation Back to School, Stanley said he focuses on locales with the highest probability for alcohol violations to occur.

"Due to the number of kids being outside, our concentrated efforts were where the people were, primarily at the grocery stores, convenience marts and the off-campus parking lots," he said. "There's a whole bunch of factors that go into where we'll be."

In conjunction with ALE enforcement strategies, Stanley said he also works to stop violations before they occur through the agency's Be a Responsible Seller program.

"We train them in (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) laws and what to look for on a fictitious ID," Stanley said.

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.