Three Highlands Ranch business were cited April 25 by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly violating liquor law.

The King Soopers on Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Safeway on Broadway and Wing Stop on South University Boulevard were cited as the sheriff’s Special Investigations Unit made 35 liquor compliance checks throughout the county.

Detectives used underage decoys to attempt to purchase alcohol, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The decoys used their own identification cards, which clearly established that they were younger than 21, and they were required to present them when asked.

“We do this a couple times throughout the year,” said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ron Hanavan. “The reason for this check was multifaceted. You have prom, graduations and the beginning of summer all right around the corner. Those three things all generally present an atmosphere of more people getting together. And for those under 21, we want to issue a reminder that, while it is OK to have fun, to do it safely and without alcohol. We want to make sure businesses aren’t providing it for them.”

King Soopers is next to ThunderRidge High School and Wing Stop is not far from Valor Christian High School.

In addition to being issued a citation from the sheriff’s office, the employees who sold the alcohol to minors also faced stiff penalties from their employers. The employees at Safeway and King Soopers were suspended for 14 and 20 days, respectively, and a second offense for either will result in termination. The employee at Wing Stop meanwhile has received a two-week suspension and may face further action.

“We’ve got an intense training program for our employees who sell liquor and we take this responsibility very seriously,” said Kris Staaf, director of public affairs for Safeway. “They go through training when they are hired and are retrained quarterly. We made a mistake, yes, but this is the first time in 16 years of being open that this store has received a violation. I think that is pretty good, given how many transactions we’ve had over time. We have a store a couple miles down the street that has never had a violation.”

All three businesses will now appear in front of the Douglas County Liquor Licensing Authority for what is known as a show-cause hearing.