WATSONVILLE — Two Watsonville restaurants were cited for selling alcohol to minors during decoy operations on Jan. 4 and 11.
Since the beginning of the new year, Watsonville Police officers have been conducting “Minor Decoy” operations, which consist of officers sending underage volunteers into businesses to attempt to purchase alcohol.
During a “Shoulder Tap” operation, an underage volunteer will solicit adults near licensed businesses to buy alcohol.
According to Watsonville Police, Sukhothai Restaurant at 1433 Main St. and Ranch Milk at 1 South Green Valley Road both were cited for selling alcohol to minors.
One employee from each business was arrested for selling alcohol to a minor. The employees were issued a citation and released at the scene.
During shoulder tap operations on the 1200 and 1400 blocks of Main Street and 300 block of Walker Street, officers arrested four adults for purchasing and providing alcohol to minors. They were all cited and released at the scene.
Also during the operations, 24 businesses refused service to the underage decoys, police said.
The efforts are part of a yearlong grant that WPD was awarded by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
