St. Mary's County board fines bartender $500 after surveillance shows underage sale

The Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County on Jan. 9, 2025 voted to fine bartender Monica Leanne Thompson $500 after evidence and testimony showed she served an alcoholic beverage to an 18-year-old on March 24, 2023 at Big Dogs Paradise Bar and Liquor in Mechanicsville.

The board reviewed video surveillance provided to Deputy Stephen Myers of the alcohol enforcement unit by Detective David Lawrence of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Attorney Christopher Beaver read the sheriff's office summary into the record, saying the footage showed the underage patron identified by the sheriff's office as Isaiah Alexander Woodland, 18, enter the premises on March 23, 2023 and later be served an alcoholic mixed drink at the bar on March 24. Deputy Myers prepared an incident report and supplemental interview materials that were forwarded to the board administrator.

Board Chair David Willenborg emphasized the legal standard at the hearing: "The fact that somebody even has a fake ID or not doesn't even matter here. What matters is did you or did you not serve a minor?" In her testimony, Monica Leanne Thompson acknowledged serving the individual on March 24 and said she had checked the patron's identification on prior visits. "I did ID Miss Woodland multiple times and even asked for a second form of ID," Thompson said, and later explained she believed the patron was using her deceased mother's ID and a credit card as secondary identification.

The board also heard that Thompson and the licensee previously faced an underage-sale enforcement action in December 2022 that resulted in a $150 fine. During the Jan. 9 hearing, members discussed the difference between compliance-test scenarios (where no identification is presented) and the current case, in which the licensee said she believed the patron to be of age based on earlier encounters and presented ID. The board noted testimony from an accompanying patron, Shalita Shorna Holt, and the surveillance segments labeled by Deputy Myers documenting no ID checks at the door and an underage sale at the bar.

After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to impose a $500 fine on Thompson for violating §6-304 of the Alcoholic Beverages Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland and rule 5.04(j) of the Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County regulations. The motion passed with one member opposed. The board directed Thompson to make the fine payable to the St. Mary's County treasurer's office and to coordinate payment with board staff.

The board distinguished between discussion of policies and the formal penalty: members noted patterns in prior enforcement while also recognizing Thompson's statement that she had previously checked the patron's ID. The board did not order additional discipline beyond the fine at the Jan. 9 hearing.