Michael Brown, Ferguson Victim Paid For His Rellos

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69. I wonder if the clerk was trying to get ID from him

I posted about this the other night but now I've looked up Missouri law on it. While Missouri law allows 18 year olds to buy tobacco products, they may be asked for ID. Clerks at stores are the ones who are required to enforce this law and they can face serious penalties if they do not check for ID on people who might be under 18. The stores can lose their tobacco and liquor licenses if they don't make sure that their clerks are careful about this ID verification.

Michael Brown was 18 according to the reports but he may not have had ID to prove it. If he did not, the clerk was within their rights - and had a duty - to not sell tobacco to a suspected minor. I can see Michael Brown getting upset if the clerk took his money, then refused to give him the cigarellos he had paid for.

The clerk seen at the door was not the clerk at the register, according to what I have read - some videos show a woman in a red shirt coming from the restrooms, and I've read that she was the one at the register. The man at the door may have been a manager or owner. It would have been very much in his interest in stopping the two young men from leaving with the tobacco items - as a liquor store proprietor, losing his license for two years (see below) would likely have put him out of business.

Many state governments do stings with under age people to try to catch stores not checking ID. That could explain why the store manager/owner called the cops and claimed shoplifting even if Michael Brown had paid for the cigarellos. It would have been protection for his clerk and himself to claim that.

The interaction at the counter seems to fit with this scenario. The store clerk, according to what I have read and the video, was not at the counter for at least a few seconds while Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were there. They could have easily grabbed the cigars and taken off out the door. Instead there was some interaction, it appears that Michael Brown tried to pay for the items, then he grabbed some cigars and started to leave.

While Michael Brown looks 18, Dorian Johnson does not - I'm not sure how old Johnson is. That may be why Johnson put back the box Brown gave him. But Michal Brown WAS 18 and probably would not have understood why he could not buy the tobacco products without ID.

The confrontation at the door would also fit - that the manager/owner tried to stop the men, Brown told him that he was 18 and that he had PAID for the items and shoved the man out of his way. I can see that Michael Brown could have been upset - he had paid for the goods, he was legally old enough to purchase them, and he may have been embarrassed at not yet having a driver's license or ID.

No persons or entity shall sell, provide or distribute any tobacco product or rolling papers to any minor, or sell any individual cigarettes to any person in Missouri. This subsection of the law does not apply to the distribution by family members on property that is not open to the public. (RSMo 407.931)

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A person or entity selling tobacco products or rolling papers or distributing tobacco product samples shall require proof of age from a prospective purchaser or recipient if an ordinary person would conclude on the basis of appearance that such prospective purchaser or recipient may be under the age of eighteen. (RSMo 407.929)

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The Division of Liquor Control has the authority to inspect stores and tobacco outlets for compliance with all laws related to access of tobacco products to minors. The Division
may employ a person seventeen years of age, with parental consent, to attempt to purchase tobacco for the purpose of inspection or enforcement of tobacco laws.

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Any person or entity who sells or distributes tobacco products by mail or the Internet in
Missouri to any person under eighteen years of age shall be assessed a fine of two hundred fifty dollars for the first violation and five hundred dollars for each subsequent
violation. (RSMo 407.926)

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Owners of establishments where tobacco products are sold who unlawfully sell or distribute tobacco products to minors shall be reprimanded for the first violation within two years and will receive citations and be banned from selling tobacco for subsequent
violations. (RSMo 407.931)
http://health.mo.gov/living/wellness/tobacco/smokingandtobacco/pdf/Kidsread.pdf