SUNDERLAND — The Select Board has issued a three-day liquor license suspension, delayed for one year, for a liquor law violation at the Shell gas station on Amherst Road (Route 116).
At a Select Board hearing Feb. 1, Police Chief Erik Demetropoulos explained the complaint was filed in early December, after Deerfield Police Sgt. Brian Ravish — who often works with the Sunderland Police Department to conduct alcohol compliance checks — sent a male under 21 years old into the store to buy alcohol.
According to Demetropoulos, the clerk at the counter did not check the male’s ID, and he was able to purchase a 12-pack of beer.
“The 12-pack of beer was taken by the sergeant, and he then went in to speak with the clerk regarding the sale of alcohol,” he explained.
Demetropoulos was notified of the violation, at which point he brought the issue to the attention of Town Administrator Geoffrey Kravitz to be brought to the Select Board for a hearing.
At the Feb. 1 hearing, an attorney representing the Shell gas station’s owner thanked the board for continuing the discussion from a previous meeting, during which he had a scheduling conflict. He said the account relayed by Demetropoulos was an accurate description of the incident.
The Shell gas station’s owner, Atif Tasneem, apologized and added that the clerk was getting ready to close up early when the underage male approached the counter — even the light out front was off, he recounted.
“Otherwise, my employees are very good,” Tasneem said. “We’ve never had this happen before. After that happened … I told everyone to check IDs, anybody under 40 or 50 years old.”
Demetropoulos confirmed that he hadn’t received any complaints at that location — nor others in town — in the four years he’s been with the department.
Select Board member Scott Bergeron said it is important to put Demetropoulos’ statement into context.
“There’s a fair amount of rental properties in town,” he said. “We have some college students in town, and I think it’s important to include in the record we have responsible retailers in town.”
Still, Tom Fydenkevez, vice chairman of the board, advised that the store should strengthen its policy.
In reviewing the policy for violations, Select Board Chairman David Pierce explained that first offenses can result in anywhere from a warning up to a seven-day license suspension; second offenses can result in a warning up to a 30-day license suspension; and finally, third offenses can result in anywhere from a warning up to revocation of the license. Fydenkevez made a motion for the board to consider a three-day suspension of the Shell gas station’s license held in abeyance (delayed) for one calendar year. He noted that a second offense within that time frame would trigger an automatic suspension, followed by a hearing. The board unanimously approved the three-day suspension.
Kravitz noted it will be up to Tasneem and Pearson to decide whether they want to agree to serve the suspension one year from now. If they don’t, the three-day suspension will be served immediately.
