By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
The owner of the Wine Gallery is changing his procedures after being charged by police with selling to minors last week.
Niraj Patel, who owns the store at 24 Summerfield Boulevard in Dayton, said he will now make anyone who looks like they may not be of age, sign a verification form to prove their identification is legal.
”We have a form here, even though they have an ID, they are confirming they are 21,” Mr. Patel said.
Mr. Patel said it is the first time in the 18 years he has been in business with two different stores that he has been cited for selling to underage individuals.
The incident took place at 6:45 p.m. last Friday, according to police, when plainclothes officers observed two females appearing to be underage enter the store and then come back out with alcohol.
Officers stopped the Ford Explorer and found six, 40-ounce bottles of steel malt liquor, according to police.
The females turned out to be a 17-year-old juvenile and Rebekah Hunter, both of Kendall Park.
Police arrested the pair and took them to headquarters for processing where the juvenile was released to her parents and Ms. Hunter was released on a summons, police said.
The juvenile female said employees at the store had not asked her for ID and that she had been shopping there for several months.
Police issued a citation to the store for selling to minors.
Mr. Patel, however, said he and other staff members did request identification when the juvenile first started coming in.
According to Mr. Patel, she produced a fake identification that she was of age to buy alcohol.
He said that he saw the fake ID himself and believed it to be valid, and after a period of time, they no longer asked for her ID.
Mr. Patel, a South Brunswick resident himself, said he has run this shop in Dayton for the last 10 years and does not want this to happen again.
The officers were working as part of a State grant to crack down on underage drinking called “Cops in Shops,” according to police.

