Woman Arrested for Selling to Minor

CATHEDRAL CITY – A 35-year-old Palm Springs woman was arrested after selling alcohol to a minor while working as a clerk at the Mobil located at 34021 Date Palm Drive, according to Cathedral City Police Commander Paul Herrera.

Elizabeth Seamore was on active parole through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at the time of the arrest and therefore accrued the additional charge of a parole violation. She was subsequently booked at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

The Cathedral City Police Department Special Operation Section along with agents from California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) arrested Seamore for selling alcohol to a minor on Feb. 27, 2019. The actions were the result of a minor decoy operation in which minors under the direct supervision of department agents, attempted to purchase alcohol from several retail licensees in Cathedral City.

Those who sold to the minor face a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation.  In addition, ABC will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to a minor.  That may include a fine, a suspension of the license, or the permanent revocation of the license.

ABC is conducting the compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors.  Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.

Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state since the 1980’s.  When the program first began, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40 to 50 percent.  When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has dropped in some cities as low as 10 percent.  In 1994, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that use of underage decoys is a valid tool of law enforcement to ensure that licensees are complying with the law.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) through the department’s Grant Assistance Program.

ABC is a state of California, Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.