Carroll County board fines Gateway Liquors $400 for sale to minor; training noncompliance dismissed

At the Board of License Commissioners’ November meeting, the board found Gateway Liquors culpable of selling alcohol to a minor and assessed a $400 fine while dismissing a separate charge that the licensee lacked alcohol-awareness certification.

Liquor board inspector William Ledley testified that on Aug. 20, 2025, he sent a 19-year-old underage volunteer into Gateway Liquors during a compliance check. "The person working the counter never asked the volunteer for his identification and sold him the alcohol," Ledley said, and the volunteer left with a photographed 12-pack of Twisted Tea that was entered into evidence.

The clerk who rang up the sale, Christopher Schwing, told the board he was helping set up the store and "I wasn't there as an employee." Schwing said he saw the store was open and completed the transaction; he acknowledged the sale and said he expected to participate in the diversion program referenced by the state's attorney. Licensee Namrata Basnet confirmed she holds alcohol-management certification and agreed to provide documentation for the board file.

The board discussed two separate issues: (1) a paperwork discrepancy between the name on the license and the name on the alcohol-management certificate, which staff agreed to reconcile, and (2) the substantive violation for selling to a minor. Commissioners concluded the certification paperwork issue had been resolved in the file and recommended dismissing the training noncompliance charge. On the sale-to-a-minor charge, members said they weighed the totality of circumstances, including that the failure occurred at the licensee's first check at the new location and that a follow-up check had also failed.

A commissioner moved that the training noncompliance charge be dismissed and that Gateway Liquors be fined $400 for the sale to a minor; the motion was seconded and the board approved it. The board's decision states the $400 fine is due within 30 days of official notice.

The board also instructed staff to correct file records so the license, certificate and identification documents consistently reflect the licensee’s name. The meeting adjourned with the board noting the next December meeting date would be determined later.

Court or criminal referrals were not announced during the meeting; the board recorded the administrative finding and the civil fine.

Closing, the board advised the licensee to coordinate with the office to ensure the name and certification documents match in the official file.