Editor’s Note: To protect identities, some sources are first-name only.
Amy hugged her black sweater tight to her body in brisk night air on Courtside Pizza’s patio. A mixed drink sat in front of her, a fake ID tucked in her purse, as she chatted with a friend.
A badge materialized just inches from her nose, glistening in the moonlight. “Can we see some form of ID?” said an undercover state liquor-enforcement agent.
Amy’s heart skipped a beat. Before she knew it, the agent had tightened handcuffs around her wrists, pinching her skin.
“(They) walked (my friend and me) across the street and wrote us a ticket. … When we asked why they came up to us, they told us it was because we looked young,” Amy said. “That was their only reasoning.”
It was April 8, 2011 — a night the junior studying early childhood education will not soon forget.
The then-20-year-old was strapped with citations for knowingly possessing alcohol underage and fictitious identification, charges expunged thanks to the court’s diversion program and her lawyer.
But Amy said there were countless times she ventured into the bars underage without getting caught — and she’s not the only one.
A Post investigation showed that only 4.6 percent of the more than 2,400 underage-related arrests made by Athens Police officers and liquor agents from 2006 to 2011 happened in bars.
An individual younger than 21 is safer drinking at a bar than a fest or a house party — and it’s even less dangerous to stop for a late-night bite to eat.
Almost a fifth of the arrests occurred during fests, with only nine on the books for Athens Police.
Athens Police made about 150 underage-consumption arrests at house parties, compared with the 55 at bars, from 2006 to 2011 — and although the amount of underage-related arrests have increased since 2006, the number arrested in bars has decreased.
Scouring the crowd
They prowl the streets and slink through the bars, skirting past teams of rowdy students enjoying the night’s festivities.
Dressed in plain clothes, their eyes dart back and forth, quietly observing the partiers around them for anything suspicious.
But revelers have no idea that the prowlers have badges under their shirts until it’s too late — when they’ve been arrested for an underage.
Visits from liquor agents are primarily complaint-based, but they do conduct a handful of random field inspections every year, said Julie Hinds, spokeswoman for the Ohio Investigative Unit.
Agents average two trips to Athens per month, but reach about three per month during fest season.
Despite regular trips to Athens, a Post investigation showed that underage-related arrests in bars only made up about 3 percent of liquor agents’ almost 1,700 citations during the five-year period.
Furthermore, only eight of Athens’ 20 bars served as locations for the almost 60 underage arrests by agents.
Topping the charts for agent underage-related arrests is The Crystal, 34 N. Court St., site of 15 during that period. Agents cited individuals in four separate incidents — once in 2006, once in 2010 and twice in 2011.
Don Pepper, the owner of The Crystal, could not be reached for comment.
Agents visited the now-defunct Junction three times in 2011, and five arrests were made. The Smiling Skull Saloon, 108 W. Union St., also was visited three times by agents, racking up nine arrests.
Chris Wolf, owner-operator of the Skull, said he wasn’t aware of the arrests but that the nature of bartending facilitates underage drinking at bars.
“When it’s really busy and (the bartenders) are looking for a tip, they’re not going to scrutinize an ID,” Wolf said. “That takes a long time.”
But Wolf said they do the best they can.
“Sometimes people slip through the cracks,” Wolf said.
Underage revelers must only be wary of liquor agents about twice a month, typically once at the beginning and once at the end. But the threat of a glimmering Athens Police badge being shoved in their faces is always lurking.
The danger might not be as likely as they think, though.
A Post investigation revealed that Athens Police officers made about 160 underage arrests in 2011, only about 10 percent at bars.
Although that number seems low, it’s an increase from 2006, when officers made only 11 underage arrests, two in bars — one at The C.I., 32 N. Court St., and the other at Pawpurr’s Bar, 37 N. Court St.
Officers were more proactive last year than in 2006, and that is the probable cause of the increase, Athens Police Capt. Ralph Harvey said.
“I doubt there was that much less drinking in 2006,” Harvey said. “But (Chief Tom Pyle and I) encourage officers to get out on the street and talk to people, and by doing so, they are able to catch more people.”
Just as with liquor-agent enforcement, several popular bars are missing from the list of underage hotspots for Athens Police. Thirteen of the 20 Uptown bars were the site of underage-related citations, but hotspots such as The Skull; Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St.; and Cat’s Eye Saloon, 12 N. Court St., were nowhere to be found.
Mexican restaurant Rio Grande, 122 W. Union St., was not on the list either.
But Athens Police approach underage citations differently from liquor agents.
“We’re mostly complaint-based, reactive and not proactive,” Harvey said. “We don’t get calls of an underage person drinking; we normally get calls that there is an intoxicated person, and then when we investigate, we find out they’re underage.”
There are three officers, plus a supervisor and a dispatch, on the road at any given time during a day, but upward of seven patrol the streets during a weekend evening, Harvey said.
“We drive down the street and observe,” he said. “No one’s looking for (underage individuals); we’re looking for people that are a danger to themselves and others, and then we just find them.”
Dangerous Late Night Bite
Like a quivering arrow, the minute hand strikes 2 a.m. Not a sound is made. Not a single clock booms. But hundreds of boozed-up people pour out of the bars as if on cue, descending on the streets of Athens.
Drunkenly, the shouting crowd stumbles to their favorite late-night eateries, hoping the carbohydrates and grease will absorb the alcohol and combat the looming hangover.
Among the intoxicated masses walk the underagers, standing a little straighter, screaming a little less. But little do they know stopping for that bite to eat is almost as dangerous as drinking in a bar.
Athens Police officers made more than 750 underage consumption citations from 2006 to 2011, 20 of which were made at an Uptown, late-night favorite. Only 55 were made in a bar.
Domino’s Pizza topped the charts — home to five underage citations — followed by Goodfella’s Pizza and Wendy’s with three each.
Goodfella’s, known as a hotspot by many drunken stumblers, tailors its business to deal with any possible problems that could arise from the intoxicated visitors.
“We’re drunk college kid proof,” manager-owner Rachael Ritchie said. “There is nothing on the walls to get broken, and on big weekends, we take all the tables out.”
Although their late-night staff is trained to spot the warning signs of a problem, Ritchie said everything’s been pretty calm in recent years.
“About seven years ago, we used to have a bouncer from Lucky’s (Sports Tavern) come over after they closed to stand out the door and keep people calm,” Ritchie said.
Fest Arrests
The infamous fires and general mayhem of spring fest season dot the memories of partiers long departed from the Athens streets. But visions of officers’ prowling also linger with partiers.
A Post investigation showed that 27 percent of the about 1,700 underage-related arrests by liquor agents occurred at fests, which is significantly higher than the percentage arrested at a bar.
More than 500 underage arrests were made during Halloween weekend during the time period.
Athens Police officers logged only nine underage arrests at the fests from 2006 to 2011, six of which were at the 2010 Mill Fest.
Halloween arrests were just as low, with only six in the past five years.
Harvey said Athens Police approach Halloween and fest arrests like a normal weekend, just on a larger scale.
“We’re looking for troublemakers — fights that will snowball into a riot,” Harvey said.
Using upward of 60 officers on Halloween, police divide Court Street into two teams on foot, Harvey said. This past year was the first time officers were sent to Mill Street.
“Mill Street is a constant pedestrian superhighway (on Halloween),” he said.
Although Ohio University Police officers also help patrol Halloween crowds, Chief Andrew Powers would not provide specifics on their patrol regime.
But an out-of-town Halloween visitor got caught in their web.
Ted Glancey, 19, woke up surrounded by stark white walls and blipping machines. An IV streaming liquid into his arm, he blinked his bleary eyes while trying to recall the events of the previous night.
It was the day after Halloween 2011 — his mind drew a blank.
“I must have gotten really messed up last night,” he thought as he lay in the hospital bed.
The Medina native didn’t know he was booked for underage alcohol consumption, a first-degree misdemeanor, until after he left the emergency room that day.
“Apparently, I was walking home to my friend’s house (on East State Street) and tripped over a curb right near (Court Street),” he said. “But I don’t really remember.”
Although Glancey’s charge is still on the books, his record will soon be expunged because of the Athens County Municipal Court’s Underage Drinker’s Diversion Program for first-time offenders, which includes paying a fine and completing a dozen hours of community service.
The actual number of arrests made by enforcement officials in Athens is higher than records show because of this program.
“(The program) isn’t bad,” Glancey said. “Aside from the money, it’s good to have this option.”
Cracking down
Every year, thousands of underage students flood the streets of Athens, looking to experience the sights and sounds of college life. Part of that experience is joining in the revelry of underage drinking, whether at a bar, a fest or even a house party.
Enforcement officers know it happens, but they can’t catch everyone, Harvey said.
“It’s a manpower issue,” he said. “We can only catch so many people.”
But the key to enforcement is preventative measures. That’s where the bars have to step up.
Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina, 6 W. State St., known for its 18-and-up shows, says it takes policing underage patrons very seriously.
“It starts with training the bar staff,” worker-owner Sarah Slater said. “We go over the laws with all our bartenders and teach them how to spot a fake ID.”
Bouncers ask every patron for identification before entering, and the bar does not allow shufflers because they want to promote responsible drinking, she said.
“If someone orders six beers, we want to see six IDs,” she said. “We don’t want to risk losing our liquor license. People love the cantina — it would be heartbreaking.”
Not every bar keeps underagers on such a tight leash, and not everyone gets caught drinking underage. But for Amy, the arrest was a wake-up call.
“I used to go (to the bars) every weekend before I got in trouble,” Amy said. “I have not been back to the bars since.”
as218907@ohiou.edu
