BENSON POLICE DEPARTMENT
303 EAST CHURCH STREET
BENSON, NC 27504
TELEPHONE 919-894-3616 FAX 919-207-1993
- - -PRESS RELEASE- - -
August 1, 2005
On July 29, 2005, officers of the Benson Police Department, including Lt. Greg Percy, Lt. Randy Beasley, Sgt. Brandon Davies, Ptl. Kevin Ryals, and Ptl. Shannon Hodges conducted an Underage Alcohol Sales Campaign in the Town of Benson. A total of seventeen (17) businesses were visited by a 20-year-old female volunteer, and she attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages from each one. At the conclusion of the campaign, she had successfully purchased alcoholic beverages at nine (9) of the businesses. The various employees who sold to the underage volunteer were issued citations charging them with Sale of Alcohol to an Underage Person, and given a court date of 9-9-2005 in Benson District Court. Their names, ages, and employers are listed below:
Gail Royal - W/F 54 - BP Station - South Walton Avenue
Myra Barefoot - W/F 64 - Food Lion - South Walton Avenue
Kathy Racines - W/F 41 - T-Mart Express - Main and Wall Street
Fekudu Asrat - W/M 58 - Flying Eagle - Wall and Johnson Street
Misty Stancil - W/F 17 - Carlie C's IGA - South Wall Street
Jessica Godwin - W/F 23 - Southern Woods and Water - Hwy. 242 North
Junior Parker - W/M 62 - ABC Store - Church and Railroad Street
Anthony Williams - W/M 34 - Pizza Hut - East Parrish Drive
Meghan Latham - W/F 19 - Frank's Pizza and Subs - South Walton Avenue
Lieutenant Greg Percy organized this campaign at the request of Chief Kenneth Edwards, who states, "We generally receive complaints from local parents throughout the year, regarding the apparent availability of alcohol to their children. I felt that since it's the height of summer, and the youth are still out of school, now would be a good time to test the compliance of our local businesses." Lt. Percy adds, "Unfortunately, over half of the businesses we visited sold alcohol to an underage person. We had one business that actually checked the person's ID, and sold to her anyway, but the other 8 businesses did not request to see her identification. That's an unacceptable practice, and must be corrected."
Chief Edwards also stated, "I would like to commend the businesses, and their employees, who followed proper procedure, and asked to see identification. I hope that they can be an example to the businesses and employees who were cited, as to the correct way of handling alcohol sales." These businesses were:
Country Mart - Hwy. 301 and Hwy. 242
Pat's Grocery - Hwy. 301 South
Spinx Conv. Store - Fayetteville Street
Coastal Conv. Store - Fayetteville Street
Citgo Station - Hwy. 50 South
El Charro Restaurant - North Honeycutt Street
Hobb's Mini Mart - Harnett and Lee Street
The ABC Board and NC Alcohol Law Enforcement will be notified of the results of this campaign, and additional disciplinary actions against the cited businesses are possible. For any additional information regarding this campaign, please contact Chief Kenneth Edwards, or Lt. Greg Percy at 919-894-3616.