nothin Cops: 7 Stores Sold Alcohol To Minors | New Haven Independent

Cops: 7 Stores Sold Alcohol To Minors

A 17-year-old girl stepped up to the counter at Gag Jr.‘s Liquor Shop on Saturday, looking to buy some booze.

The guy working the cash register glanced at her ID. If he’d looked closer, he would have seen that she shouldn’t be buying alcohol for four more years.

As it happened, he made the sale, and Gag Jr.‘s was busted for selling to alcohol to minors for the first time in its 30 years of operation.

That’s what happened at Gag’s, according to its owner.

The Chapel Street liquor store joined six others that police charged with selling liquor to underage buyers on Saturday. It was a part of a city-wide police operation to crack down on alcohol sales to minors.

Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Joe Avery:

Police checked 62 locations in New Haven. They sent in underage agents” to see if they could buy alcohol. The agents were successful in seven stores: Shop Smart on Putnam Street, Gag’s Jr. Liquor Shop on Chapel Street, Eddie’s Market on Sylvan Avenue, Guy’s Package Store on Lombard Street, Westville Quality Market on Alden Avenue, Reliable Liquor on Dixwell Avenue, and New Haven Wine & Liquor on Whalley Avenue.

The Connecticut Liquor Control Commission will take administrative action against the stores, said Avery. The violations could result in fines, suspension of licenses, or shut-downs, he said. In the meantime, the stores are permitted to continue operating.

Contacted by phone on Monday, store owner Gary Gagliardi put his violation in context. It was an accident,” he said.

It was a a busy time in the store, Gagliardi said. He had a new employee working the cash register. The employee simply misread the date on the girl’s ID, Gagliardi said.

It’s the first time his store has ever been busted, he said. Located near the Yale campus, he sees IDs from all 50 states. Gagliardi said he trains his employees to inspect all of them. He’ll be redoubling his efforts after Saturday’s bust, he said.

In other police news, according to Avery:

A man reported seeing two males firing a handgun in the air near Howard Avenue and Second Street at 10:46 p.m. on Sunday. He said the gunmen had run into a house on Greenwich Avenue, but the occupant of the home told police that no one had entered. Officers found no ballistic evidence.

The ShotSpotter system indicated a single gunshot in the area of Hill House High School on Sunday at 2:29 a.m. Police reported to the location and found no ballistic evidence.

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