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22 citations issued after police raid bar for underage drinking

It’s no secret that many college students in the Philadelphia like to drink. Each weekend college students pour into local bars or go to parties and consume alcohol. For those over 21 this is usually not an issue, but many college students are not 21 and risk underage drinking citations. This does not, of course, stop many of them from drinking or attempting to get into bars with fake IDs.

The police recently decided to investigate a local bar near the University of Pennsylvania campus for underage drinking. Both State Police and Liquor Control Enforcement officers entered the bar around 11:30 p.m. and busted the bar for allegedly serving minors. The police checked the IDs of the people in the bar and issued a total of 22 citations. 20 of the citations were for alleged underage drinking and seven were issued for possession of false identification cards.

Many young people do not think that an underage consumption ticket is very serious. However, underage drinking citations can have long-term consequences. The ticket will stay on a person’s criminal record and it will have to be disclosed to future employers or on school applications. Also, if the person is a minor they may face a suspension of their driver’s license.

There are defenses to underage drinking charges, however. In addition, defense counsel can sometimes steer the accused into a diversion program as part of a plea agreement. This will often allow the charge to ultimately be dismissed if certain conditions are met.

Source: NBC 10 Philadelphia, “Bar near UPenn busted for underage drinking: Police” David Chang, Dec. 18, 2013

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