4 accused of buying alcohol for minors in S. Tahoe

Four people, including two South Lake Tahoe residents, were arrested this weekend in an operation targeting people buying alcohol for minors.

Dubbed Shoulder Tap Decoy Operation, the March 15 event had more than 100 law enforcement agencies in the state involved.

Arrested in South Lake Tahoe were: Stevie Smith, 23, from Pasadena; Harvey Hampton, 58, from South Lake Tahoe; Charles Kerr, 72, from South Lake Tahoe; and Hamza Salmi, 32, from San Francisco.

In total, the operation resulted in 522 arrests. Most people were cited for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors, and others have been arrested for crimes such as drunken driving, illegal drugs, false identification, open containers in public, public drunkenness, parole violations and outstanding warrants.

The program uses a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer to stand outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol. If the adults agree to purchase alcohol for the minor, officers then arrest and cite the person for furnishing alcohol to the minor.

The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report