alcohol

After receiving a Tip Line report that youths under the legal drinking age were using fake IDs to buy alcohol at local businesses, Batavia Police investigators ran a series of compliance checks on Friday.

No problems were found at the locations in the Tip Line report, but undercover agents did continue an investigation looking for adults buying alcohol and giving it to teens.

Police say when a person was seen getting into a car with a teen in it after purchasing alcohol, the car was stopped "to determine the circumstances."  The results of the stop were not released by police.

There was alcohol that was confiscated on Friday night, according to police, and one case was referred to Genesee County Probation.

The press release states:

The Batavia Police will continue to be proactive in the attempt to deter underage access to alcohol with these types of programs with the assistance of funding from the Drug Free Communities.

The driver working with the Kid Rock tour when it came through Darien Lake hadn't been drinking the night he was arrested for alleged DWI, according to a Buffalo attorney contacted by Buffalo TV station.

Thomas J. Eoannou has reportedly been retained by Joseph Devlin, the 37-year-old Florida man accused of driving a Kid Rock tour bus while intoxicated on Tuesday night.

Eoannou reportedly told WBKW that his client has a clean record.

WBTA reported Thursday that Devlin's BAC was allegedly twice the legal limit.

Kid Rock's web site says Devlin wasn't directly employed by the tour and he has been fired from his job.

Devlin is out of jail after posting $10,000 bail.

Nineteen people age 20 or younger were issued tickets for possessing alcohol yesterday while attending the Van's Warp Tour concert at Darien Lake.

None of the 19 were Genesee County residents.

Seven of the people who received tickets from the Gensee County Sheriff's Office for violation of ABC Section 65-c were under 18 years of age.

WBTA interviewed Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble about underage drinking enforcement at Darien Lake concerts.

It's almost as if he's been reading comments on The Batavian, addressing the suggestion by some that being under 21 and having a beer or two isn't a serious issue.

"I think underage drinking is, (but) on its surface people would say, 'it's no big deal kids having a few beers,'" said Dibble. "That's not what we're seeing on the law enforcement side. We're seeing people that are drinking underage for one thing, but drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and it's directly affecting their behavior to the point where they're getting arrested, they're getting injured and at these concerts. They get lost, they get disconnected -- there are too many opportunities to get hurt when they get drunk, especially to the extent that we're seeing." (Listen)

Also, WBTA reports that Joseph Devlin, the 37-year-old bus driver for the Kid Rock tour, was allegedly found to have a BAC of twice the legal limit. He's $10,000 bail has been paid.

Local teens are being recruited to head into stores where alcohol is sold and, with the merchant's permission, place stickers on the booze warning about the dangers of under-age drinking, according to the GCASA blog.

The program is called "Sticker Shock."