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San Luis Obispo clerk cited for selling alcohol to a minor

January 13, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo police officers cited a clerk at a gas station for selling alcohol to a minor during a sting on Monday.

Along with Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents, police officers conducted a minor decoy operation in SLO. Under the supervision of law enforcement, minors attempted to purchase alcohol from 19 licensed businesses.

Clerks who sell liquor to a minor face a minimum fine of $250 and 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first-time offense. Additionally, ABC may take administrative action against the alcohol licenses of the businesses that sold to a minor. Such action may include a fine, suspension or the permanent revocation of the license.

During these operations, the minor decoy is truthful about their age when asked, and provides their actual state issued identification card to clerks upon request.

During Monday’s sting, a clerk at Laguna Shell on Los Osos Valley Road sold alcohol to the minor decoy, despite viewing their identification card stating they were 18 years old.

The clerk, Elizabeth Ann Clanin, was cited and released on a misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor.

“ABC conducts these operations to keep alcohol out of the hands of our youth,” said ABC Acting Director Frank Robles. “We can increase the quality of life in our communities and reduce DUIs by preventing underage drinking.”

 


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If only we could do something about all the bums stealing the shopping carts .


0

Fire her. She may have been selling alcohol to many others before she finally was caught, and who knows how many of those returned to driving behind a wheel there at the gas station. These stings save lives.


-3

From Ms. Clanin’s LinkedIn profile:

 I am a Cuesta College student in San Luis Obispo. I graduated from the Adult school in 2016 and am hoping to get my AA in Drug and Alcohol Counseling. I am a team player and a tenacious, very determined and have grit . Those words actually came from my teachers at the Adult school.


-5

Sean Hannity: “Where were the stories about how the car Katie was riding in — stopped at a red light — was struck from behind at nearly 80 miles per hour by a drunk-driving illegal alien?”


1

Hannity’s daughter.


0

First and foremost, this is against the law and does little to achieve any meaningful good. More importantly, it raises the question of whether our time, effort, and public resources are being applied in the most effective way possible. Rather than focusing on actions that may generate headlines but produce limited long-term benefit, couldn’t we do better by directing greater effort and funding toward addressing the root causes and consequences of illegal drug activity?

A more effective approach would prioritize disrupting large-scale trafficking networks, expanding treatment and rehabilitation programs, and investing in prevention and education efforts that reduce demand in the first place. These strategies have a far greater potential to improve public safety, protect communities, and deliver lasting results. Simply put, if the goal is to make a real impact, our resources should be focused on solutions that measurably reduce harm and strengthen public health, rather than actions that offer little return for the cost involved.

Or is that have less profit???


-10

Alcohol is a drug, and it legal to buy and use for everyone over 21 years of age. If you want to drink alcohol, it’s easy enough and thus easy to abuse. How many people per year are killed by drunk drivers?


8

If anything, the impact of alcohol strengthens because it’s legal then argument that we should be more strategic about how we allocate resources focusing not just on criminalization, but on reducing harm, improving access to treatment, and addressing the root causes of substance abuse across the board.


2

If the decoy was 18 years old they are not a minor but cannot purchase alcoholic beverages until 21. Why do they call the sting a minor decoy and the crime furnishing alcohol to a minor?


17