H
hoosiers
Guest
On a rare occasion, I was persuaded to by some beer for my 19 yr. old brother and a couple friends. We live in Indiana. I exited the vehicle, went in and purchased some beer and some liquor, got back into the vehicle and we left. About 6 miles away, we were pulled over by an excise officer. He had been in the parking lot of the liquor store watching, had then gone in and gotten a receipt for my purchase, and then come to find us. The driver of the vehicle was not 21.I realize that this is illegal. What I was wondering though, was if the excise officer could simply pull us over because, as he stated, he did not believe the driver was 21. It should also be noted that the vehicle was on loan from a family member, thus a running of the plates would not have confirmed the officer's suspicion of age. That suspicion was not validated until he pulled us over and obtained ID's. He told the driver that he didn't believe I was 21 either. Was he within his rights simply because he questioned the age of the defendants, simply based on observation, and was, therefore, suspicious of their activity? Saying that you don't think someone looks 21 seems like a weak reason to pull them over. And, if he was not within his rights, any information or charges found out or made following the traffic stop must be dismissed, correct? Thanks.