ANAHEIM : State Puts Pressure on Market Owner

An Anaheim market that has been charged with selling alcohol to high school students involved in a fatal wreck faces tougher state sanctions if authorities catch the owner selling to underage buyers.

A temporary restraining order won by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control department prohibits Me N’ Paul’s Market from doing something that is already illegal--selling alcohol to minors--but it means owner Masood Zaman would be in contempt of court and could face jail time if officials catch him making such a sale, Deputy Atty. General Anne Hunter said.

Zaman and a clerk face charges of selling seven six-packs of beer to a group of Katella High School students July 28. The next morning, James V. Patterson, one of the youths in the group, crashed his Chevy Suburban after a night of drinking, killing four friends and injuring three others.

Officials say the store had become known among high school students as an easy place for minors to purchase alcohol. Officials fined the store in June, 1994, and cited the store again for selling to a minor on Aug. 9 of this year. State alcohol officials also are seeking to revoke the store’s liquor license.

“It could take approximately six months for a revocation if it is determined to be warranted,” Hunter said. “That’s one of the reasons we wanted the injunction against them now. In the meantime we don’t want them selling to anyone under 21.”

Zaman has denied the charges, but his attorney did not oppose the restraining order Thursday, Hunter said.