Street vendor at Oakland's Lake Merritt accused of illegal alcohol sales

A Union City woman was arrested for alleged illegal alcohol sales at Lake Merritt in Oakland, police said Tuesday, including an alleged sale to an underage decoy.

On June 19, police officers and staff from the city's Economic & Workforce Development department said they discovered an unlicensed mobile alcohol vendor at The Pergola at Lake Merritt and seized the alcohol she was selling.

Officers said they told the vendor she did not have the required state and local licenses to operate, and that they warned her that continuing to sell alcohol without proper permits was against the law.

According to investigators, police later saw a publicly shared social media post showing that the woman had continued to sell alcohol despite their warning.

On July 10, police went back to Lake Merritt and conducted a second investigation, where officers used an underage decoy to purchase alcohol from the vendor.

According to police, the woman did not request identification from the underage decoy. The vendor also sold alcohol to an undercover officer, police said. During these sales, police alleged the vendor acknowledged that police had previously investigated her.

Officers arrested the vendor for possessing and serving alcohol in a public park. Police alleged that a hostile crowd gathered, but officers were able to maintain control and completed the arrest.

Police added that the vendor's vehicle was illegally parked on the park's grass and had more than 75 outstanding parking citations. Due to the crowd and in accordance with OPD policy, they relocated the car before it was towed.

After her arrest, police claimed the vendor admitted she knew her operation was illegal and that she lacked the required permits.

The vendor was booked into Santa Rita Jail on charges related to unlawful alcohol sales, police said. Her name has not been released.