Sheriff’s department patrols Encinitas for alcohol violators

Sheriff's deputies and state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents arrested 19 people in a weekend crackdown in Encinitas.

In a news release issued at 4 a.m. on Sunday, March 17, the sheriff's department said it had conducted “a zero tolerance drunk in public sweep" in the North County beach city. Charges included drunk in public, possession of an open alcoholic container, urinating in public, and minor in possession of an alcoholic beverage, the release said.

The sweep began at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, and concluded at 3 a.m. the following morning. “[In] July 2012, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department received a grant of $100,000 from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control,” explained the release. “The funding is utilized in communities patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department to help fight alcohol-related crimes and educate ABC-licensed businesses…. Operations like these will continue through June 2013,” the news release said.