EPCSO TO LAUNCH OPERATION TO CURB UNDERAGE DRINKING
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
3850 Justice Dr., El Paso, Texas 79938
Website: EPCSO.ORG
El Paso, TX – The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting an operation to curb underage drinking beginning Friday, June 03, 2016.
High school graduation season is in effect all over the borderland, and the Sheriff’s Office wants to remind minors (under 21) that there are consequences when alcohol is added to their celebrations.
If you are a minor (under 21) and found to be in possession of alcohol, you may face the following penalties:
· Up to a $500 fine
· A 30-180 day driver license suspension
· 8 to 40 hours of community service
· Mandatory alcohol-awareness classes
Any amount of beer, wine or liquor can trigger these penalties. A second or third offense can lead to suspension of your driver license for 60 to 180 days.
If you are under 21, it is illegal for you to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol in your system. The first time you are stopped for drinking and driving, you could face the following penalties:
· Up to a $500 fine,
· A 60-day driver license suspension
· 20 to 40 hours of community service
· Mandatory alcohol-awareness classes
If you're 17 or older and are pulled over for drinking and driving with a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater, you could face:
· Up to a $2,000 fine
· Three to 180 days in jail
· A driver license suspension for 90 days to a year
Sheriff’s Office deputies will be proactively patrolling the county of El Paso looking for these offenses. Driving while under the influence of alcohol has far greater consequences, far beyond the legal and financial ones. According the Texas Department of Transportation “Thousands of lives are permanently impacted each year because of someone’s decision to get behind the wheel while impaired from the effects of alcohol.” “ About every 20 minutes in Texas, someone is hurt or killed in a crash involving alcohol.