During a series of liquor law compliance checks over the weekend, Oxford Spirits was cited multiple times for furnishing alcohol to underage persons.

Oxford police sent two different sets of 17-year-olds into the store at 21 Lynn St. around 9:30 p.m. Friday and all were allowed to purchase alcohol.

Sgt. Jim Squance of the Oxford Police Department (OPD) said charges are pending for the employees involved in the sales and the state Department of Liquor Control has been notified of the establishment's failure to comply with liquor laws.

As of press time, Oxford Spirits would not respond to calls for comment on this story.

"They will hold a hearing to determine what steps should be taken next," Squance said.

Possible penalties range from a fine to the suspension or revocation of the establishment's liquor license. Oxford Spirits' liquor license remains valid pending the outcome of the hearing.

The Oxford police routinely perform these types of checks using underage subjects, but Squance said it is abnormal for them to check the same place twice in one night. He said it was done in this case because it appeared that there were blatant violations taking place.

"There was the appearance of numerous young looking patrons in the establishment," he said.

Police arrested one such shopper, Miami University sophomore Robert Bakke for underage possession. Bakke was in line holding a case of Keystone Light beer and a box of wine when police entered the store. He was identified as 20 years old, handcuffed and cited.

Miami senior Matt Preis arrived at Oxford Spirits Friday night after police had already made the citations. He said he entered to find several police officers questioning store employees and a male, Bakke, sitting on the ground Indian-style with his hands behind his back.

Preis said that while the situation was not one he expected to encounter on a Friday night, the fact that Oxford Spirits failed to check IDs was not particularly alarming.

"I wasn't surprised," Preis said. "I think I was more surprised that the cops were there than by the fact that they were selling to minors."

According to police reports, while citing Bakke, officers noticed a number of other patrons set down beer they were holding and exit the store quickly. None of them were able to be identified.

Squance said the fact that so many possibly underage people fled added to the evidence that there were violations taking place.

Miami senior Ali Murray agreed that Oxford Spirits is a place to easily get alcohol when underage.

"I've never been carded there," Murray said. "My roommate sophomore year always went there and they never carded her."

Oxford police performed compliance checks at 11 locations over the weekend with only two failures, Oxford Spirits and Circle K. Pit Stop, Kroger, Colony Food Mart, KDS, Red Ox, United Dairy Farmers, The Den, SDS Pizza, and Top Deck all passed the checks.

Around 8:45 p.m. Friday at Circle K, employee Heather Alexander of West College Corner, Ind. was cited for furnishing alcohol to underage persons after she sold a six-pack of Budweiser Select beer to a 17-year-old sent in by police.