On January 21, 2025, The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Alcohol Enforcement Unit conducted a succession of tobacco compliance checks within St. Mary’s County. The covert compliance checks involved using an underage Sheriff’s Office confidential informant (CI).
The 19-year-old CI was wearing athletic attire and was instructed to enter the store and retrieve a tobacco product from the business in an effort to purchase said product. The CI was accompanied by Sergeant Robert Merritt, who wore civilian attire and observed all underage tobacco transactions.
The Sheriff’s Office visited 23 business locations, and 19 businesses passed the compliance check and asked the CI for their driver’s license; four businesses failed to ask and/or verify any identification; therefore, tobacco products were sold to an underage person.
Businesses passing compliance checks:
- Leonardtown Cigars – 40955 Merchants Lane Suite14, Leonardtown
- Merchants Lane Fine Wine & Spirits – 40845 Merchants Lane, Leonardtown
- Food Lion Store 656 – 40955 Merchants Lane, Leonardtown
- Walgreens – 40955 Merchants Lane, Leonardtown
- Centre Liquors – 40955 Merchant Lane, Leonardtown
- Exxon Dash-In Store 099 – 26065 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
- Pal Liquors & Gas – 25965 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
- Leonardtown Birdies – 25355 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
- Fastop Store 52 – 23952 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
- Beacon Liquors – 20975 Point Lookout Road, Callaway
- The Corner Store (Callaway Shell) – 20943 Point Lookout Road, Callaway
- Bob’s Sunoco – 20321 Piney Point Road, Callaway
- Abell’s Tavern – 20281 Piney Point Road, Callaway
- WJ Dent & Sons/Chief’s Bar – 44584 Tall Timbers Road, Tall Timbers
- Point Market – 17449 Piney Point Road, Piney Point
- Russell’s Store – 44894 Blake Creek Road, Valley Lee
- Dollar General – 20877 Point Lookout Road, Callaway
- St. Mary’s Fine Wine & Spirits – 20141 Point Lookout Road, #13, Great Mills
- Cooks Spirit – 18400 Point Lookout Road, Park Hall
The following four businesses failed to ask for identification and sold tobacco to an underage person.
- Optimal Vapor – 40955 Merchants Lane, Leonardtown
- The Toasted Foot Lounge- 20845 Callaway Village Way, Callaway
- Sheetz Store #318- 20760 Old Great Mills Road, Great Mills
- The Leonardtown Wine & Spirits- 25470-B Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
