Gilroy Fire Chief Caught in Pleasure Point Underage Alcohol Sting

Original Report: A sting operation meant to pinpoint adults buying alcohol for minors yielded one high profile citation Friday night: Roger Bloom, interim fire chief of the Gilroy Fire Department. 

The operation was conducted by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office and Santa Cruz Police Department throughout Santa Cruz and Live Oak, using a decoy minor approaching adults asking them to purchase alcohol.

"We went to Pleasure Point Liquors and he bought alcohol for a minor," Sheriff's Deputy April Skalland said. 

According to KSBW, the decoy minor is the son of a Santa Cruz police officer. 

Bloom, , was cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor and then released. He is expected to be charged with a misdemeanor. 

Later in the evening, the operation moved to the 7-Eleven on 30th Avenue and Portola Drive, where the decoy approached a car with three 18-year-olds and one 17-year-old.

"He asked them to buy him beer and they said they couldn't but they sold him a 40 [ounce beer] from out of their car and that's when we swarmed," Skalland said. 

Inside the car deputies found more beer, hash and "a billy club with screws at the end, like a medieval weapon," Skalland said. "So they all got cited and released."

The Gilroy Fire Department has yet to comment on Bloom's citation.