Friday, Jan. 28, 2005

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Chief: No ‘wiggle room’ for new alcohol permit

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Peachtree City’s new alcohol licensing program filters out criminals through background checks, keeping identity thieves, sex offenders and other bad apples from serving up drinks at local restaurants, according to Police Chief James Murray.

Persons denied permits are allowed to file an appeal with the police department, but only if they are contesting a part of their criminal record such as the type of offense or date of conviction, Murray said.

For minor alcohol-related offenses, a person must wait two years after the date of their conviction to receive an alcohol serving license in Peachtree City, Murray noted. For more serious offenses, the wait is five years, the chief added.

Only one person has been granted a license after a second look at their criminal record, due to a discrepancy on the dates of conviction, Murray said.

“If there are any questions about a police report, we’ll get it from the other jurisdiction,” Murray noted. “If it’s wrong, bring me proof.”

The department notifies applicants what date they can get their alcohol sales license on if they have been initially turned down, Murray said.

Murray said that some time ago, some restaurant employees in the city who had been arrested for selling drugs defiled the dishes served to police officers and their families, who later got sick.