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Santa Maria meth dealer steals alcohol sting money

February 9, 2015

christmas moneyAn alleged methamphetamine dealer offered to buy alcohol for a Santa Maria police operative and then attempted to walk away with the booze. [KEYT]

On Friday, police failed in their attempt to catch liquor stores selling alcohol to minors and adults buy booze for people under the age of 21. They did arrest the lone suspect, though, for stealing money offered in exchange for alcohol.

Officers charged the suspect with petty theft, as well as possession of methamphetamine for sale. They also determined that he was a parolee.

During the sting, a decoy posing as a minor entered 10 liquor stores, but each shop refused to sell him alcohol. The decoy also asked six individuals to purchase alcohol, but only the alleged meth dealer agreed to do so.

Police conducted the sting in coordination with the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. A $25,000 federal grant is funding alcohol stings that Santa Maria police are conducting.


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People shouldn’t be buying this stuff for kids, but how are these sort of stings not considered entrapment?


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I can think of 25,000 reasons the police can come up with.


Follow the money… the bait on the hook: get those departments used to taking orders from the Fed (aka Sugar Daddy) and not question the practices or methods.


It is like the bogus “failing to stop for a pedestrian” sting that the Five Cities departments conducted last year. There, they had a double-dipper (i.e. retired, former cop) step one foot off the sidewalk, standing there watching traffic on Grand Ave not stop. Then the cops took off and gave out tickets.


FYI: They ultimately dropped all “charges” against anyone not stupid enough to just pay and stand and fight them.


This story, however, sounds better because it has “children” and mean, scary liquor stores! Who can be against THIS, right?


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The same as any decoy operation. Does a female police officer (decoy) have to have sex with a john before a crime is committed? Simply providing an opportunity to commit a crime is not sufficient to be entrapment.


I think ALL laws should be investigated and enforced….. or else legalize the activity.


If the Feds did not seize so much of our money to begin with, the local govt would have enough to operate without “Grant” money.


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Stings such as this are also conducted on tobacco sales since it is against the law to sell to minors.

If I lived in Santa Maria, I’d prefer the police spend their time on more serious cases.


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Unfortunately, trickle down budgetary enhancements take a much higher precedence than actual “serious” cases. I mean, we have to support those bloated pay packages that do nothing but escalate every year…. not to mention maintenance on all that shiny, new paramilitary equipment.


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Using a minor to attempt to break the law in order to coerce others into breaking the law should also be a crime.


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“During the sting, a decoy posing as a minor” (with the emphasis on “posing”)


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Well if they weren’t a minor, was an actual law broken? Is it a law that you would have to check the ID or is the law merely that you cannot sell to a minor? :)


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Good point. Didn’t think of that one. I believe it the act of selling to a minor, or a minor soliciting.


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I guess this is similar the the CHP catching speeders doing a “bumper pace”. There is nowhere in the Vehicle Code which allows a Peace Officer to break traffic laws (ie: speeding) absent a emergency or pursuit; and then only if a forward red light is illuminated and a siren used as necessary.


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It’s good to see that the SM cops are using tax dollars to police the important stuff, while their town is top gun for car thefts and chop shopping cars, gang bangers shoot up the place now and then, and Vagos criminal bikers tear up and down 101 at 90 with impunity. (Look for the bright green patch on the jacket back).


Can’t the ABC AlcoBevControl folks handle such stings while the cops pay attention to REAL violent crime, or at least SM get a boat to match Parkinson and conduct collegial off-shore racing.


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I wish someone would try to get me to buy alcohol for them, I would take their money, go into the store and put the money in one of the donation jars.


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