Ray's One Stop in Tajique received one administrative citation and El Comedor de Anayas in Moriarty received two, including service to a minor and for employing a person without a server permit, according to Sgt. Fredrick Jasler of the SID.

The operation consisted of three SID agents, 11 local police officers and three 18- to 20-year-old volunteers who attempted to purchase alcohol in area bars and liquor stores. The agents, minors and some local officers were dressed in plain clothing and went to Moriarty establishments about 5 p.m. A training session was held earlier in the day so local police departments will be able to perform their own future operations, Jasler said.

Moriarty, Estancia and Mountainair police departments participated in the operation. The compliance checks began in Moriarty, then moved south to Estancia, Mountainair, Willard and Tajique.

The violation at El Comedor took place about 5:30 p.m. The server did check the individual's identification, a valid New Mexico driver's licence, but still served the minor alcohol, according to the police report from Moriarty officer Joseph Baca, who witnessed the incident.

Baca and the SID agent then advised the server she "had served alcohol to an individual under the age of 21 at which point she stated 'no' the date was 88, 89 referring I believe to the individual birth year at which point (the agent) advised her the month also needed to be checked all the way through December and that the individual was indeed under the age of 21," according to the report.

The agent and Baca identified themselves and requested to speak with the manager. The server replied she was the manager. However, when the agent requested her serving permit, the server admitted she did not have one. The Liquor Control Act requires servers to be certified within 30 days of being employed. The server said she was not certified and had worked at El Comedor for more than 30 days, according to the report.

The server will be charged with selling or giving alcoholic beverages to minors, a fourth-degree felony. Baca wrote in his report that the server did not have any warrants for her arrest.

"I chose to have her summonsed in lieu of arresting her," he wrote. "(The server) was advised of the charges she faced and was told the Moriarty Police Department or other law enforcement agencies would be following up with her in the future to serve her a subpoena."

A citation was also given to Ray's One Stop in Tajique, where an employee will be cited at a later date for selling to a minor, Jasler said. The individual was arrested on a State Police warrant out of Española for failure to appear in court, Jasler said.

These kinds of operations are new for local law enforcement, Moriarty Sgt. Mike Roberts said. Each year, area police departments receive a grant from the Children, Youth and Families Department, which called for compliance checks and shoulder taps this year, Roberts said.

The investigation on Saturday didn't go into shoulder taps, in which the minors try to get someone over the age of 21 to buy alcohol for them, Roberts said. He expects those operations will be done in the future.

Roberts was pleased with the outcome of the operation.

"I think it went pretty well," Roberts said. "Establishments for the most part are complying, which is a good thing. It looks like most businesses are training their employees properly."

Estancia Police Chief Jimmy Chavez was also pleased with the operation. Both of the town's liquor establishments passed the compliance check.

In Estancia, a volunteer went into the Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill and ordered a beer from the bartender.

"It says you were born in 1990," the bartender replied. "I was born in '89, and I'm 20. I can get you a Coke though."

Nine establishments licensed to sell liquor were checked in Torrance County, Jasler said, including:

Mike's Friendly Store, El Comedor de Anayas, Blackies, and Club 203 in Moriarty; Mustang convenience store and the Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill in Estancia; the Willard Cantina and Cafe; the Rosebud Saloon in Mountainair; and Ray's One Stop in Tajique.

If the establishments are prosecuted, violations at both El Comedor and Ray's One Stop would be the first offenses, according to a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Ray's One Stop has only received a warning in 2001 in regard to a poster violation, and El Comedor has a clear record, according to the spokeswoman. The establishment obtained its liquor licence in February 2008, she said.

In violations involving sales to minors within a 12-month period, the first offense will result in a fine ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 and suspension of all alcohol sales for one business day, assessed by the Alcohol and Gaming Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department.

Employing a person without a server permit carries a $500 fine for both the unlicensed server and establishment.