Alcohol Law Enforcement officials are no longer the only unwanted guests at local clubs and bars.
Since the beginning of the spring semester, several students attending restaurants and bars around Durham have received citations from officials of the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control commission, the state-directed liquor distributor. The organization has a law enforcement branch that has the ability to enter any establishments that have liquor licenses, said Jeff Lasater, District Four ALE supervisor.
"Even though it's... called a closed venue, [any restaurant or bar] has what's called ABC permits," said Lasater, adding that both ALE and ABC have jurisdiction in such locations.
Lasater said he was not aware of the recent citations issued to students and that ALE and ABC officials do not have frequent interactions.
"We do not, as a matter of routine, work closely with the ABC officers," he said. "The ABC officers' primary focus is on the ABC stores."
From the accounts of cited students, however, that focus seems to be expanding.
ABC officials have cited students at mixers, formals and rush events, which some students said is unusual. Lasater said ALE often issues citations at Shooters II and George's Garage, rather than at the smaller venues.
Sophomore Sarah Steele said within the past few weeks, enforcement of alcohol consumption laws at popular venues has come into question by students.
"I have been surprised... about people getting cited at their own formals because those events are closed," she said. "They're obviously not [closed] because undercover cops got inside."
John Dee, manager of Spartacus Restaurant-where a sophomore was cited by ABC this past weekend-said although the officials are permitted to enter his restaurant, it is not a frequent occurrence.
"They can go anywhere they like, they can go in my back office, they can go in my cooler [and] they can walk into my restaurant," Dee said.
ABC officials did not reply to repeated requests for comment.
Students described drastically different experiences regarding their citations. Although one student was issued a citation immediately on the spot, others said they were first brought to the Durham police station.
"It's all up to the discretion of the officer--how far they want to pursue it," said a sophomore girl, who was cited at her sorority's formal.
The sophomore said the officer saw her standing with a beer and told her little else before informing her that she was under arrest. He then took her to the police station. The sophomore was released later that night and took a cab to return to campus.
Possession of alcohol by a minor is a Class I misdemeanor. The criminal penalty can range from a minimum sentence of probation with a fine of $250 and at least 25 hours of community service to a maximum sentence of 1-45 days in prison.
Some restaurants maintain that they are following every precaution to avoid serving minors.
"[ABC officials] investigate and look on videos and see that my staff, my bartenders and my waiters have done the proper procedure for checking IDs and putting wristbands on [patrons] when they're 21 years old," said Chad Heff, manager of Durham Lanes AMF. "When [the patrons] get out on the lanes, it's someone else's responsibility."
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