The DeKalb County Beer Board voted to impose a civil penalty on the owner of Nicole’s Market Thursday night after she admitted to illegally selling beer to a minor.
42 year old Areceli Soto Godinez of Smithville has until next Friday, December 11 to pay the $1,000 fine or she will lose her beer license for six months.
Godinez appeared before the beer board Thursday night for a revocation hearing. But Godinez decided against proceeding with the hearing and accepted the penalty assessed by the beer board.
During an undercover operation in September, a 20 year old operative working for the Sheriff’s Department entered Nicole’s Market and bought beer from Godinez. Sheriff Patrick Ray, Detective Jeremy Taylor and other officers involved in the operation were present for the hearing Thursday night and prepared to testify.
“This is an opportunity for you to make any statement you care to. You are entitled to a hearing here tonight on the issue of whether your license should be revoked based on the allegations and the sheriff and his witnesses are here if you want a hearing. The board has two options. If the board after a hearing found you had sold beer to a minor they could revoke your license for a period of time or they could impose a civil penalty or fine up to $2,500,” said County Attorney Hilton Conger in addressing Godinez and her interpreter.
Conger then asked the interpreter “Do you know if she wants to have a hearing or does she acknowledge or admit that she did sell beer to a minor? After conferring with her, the interpreter replied “she says she’s I guess guilty that she sold to a minor”.
“It’s up to the board then with her acknowledgement or her admission that she did sell to a minor to either vote to revoke her license. The board could suspend her license for any period that you choose or in the alternative you could impose a penalty of up to $2,500. That’s the options,” said Conger.
Beer Board member Rhonda Caplinger made a motion to impose a $1,000 fine and if it’s not paid within seven days for the beer license to be revoked for six months. Board member Jim Stagi seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
Godinez appeared in DeKalb County General Sessions Court on Thursday October 29 on a criminal citation for this offense. While she pled not guilty, the case against Godinez was continued for six months after which time the citation will be dismissed provided she pays the court costs of $212 and has no further incidents of this kind.
Godinez was among four persons cited for the illegal sale of alcohol to a minor as part of an undercover investigation conducted jointly by the Sheriff’s Department, Smithville Police Department, and the Alexandria Police Department.
Godinez along with 25 year old Langed Bassem Nabil Samir of the Alexandria Discount Beer and Tobacco store on Nashville Highway and 56 year old Allison Ferguson of Smithville, an employee of Mapco Express on East Broad Street, Smithville appeared in General Sessions Court Thursday, October 29.
Under negotiated settlements with the District Attorney General’s Office, each case is to be dismissed provided the defendants pay their court costs and have no further incidents of this kind within a certain period of time. Ferguson’s case was dismissed that day. Citations are to be dismissed after 60 days for Samir and after six months in the Godinez case.
The case against 32 year old Jennifer Sims of McMinnville, an employee of the Discount Tobacco Store on West Broad Street, Smithville across from the Dairy Queen was postponed until December 10 to give her time to hire an attorney.
The Alexandria Beer Board Tuesday night, October 27 imposed a $500 fine against the owner of the Alexandria Discount Beer and Tobacco store for the violation of the town’s beer ordinance. Samir, the clerk who actually made the sale, was cited by the Alexandria Police Department after he illegally sold beer to an underage operative during an undercover investigation on September 22. Samir admitted to making the illegal sale of beer but claims he made a mistake in reading the birth date on the identification presented to him by the customer (undercover operative) who is 20 years old.
Members of the DeKalb County Beer Board are Chairman Edward Frazier, Robert Rowe, Jim Stagi, Johnny King, Frank Thomas, Leonard Dickens, and Rhonda Caplinger.