Holmes Beach Police Department continues to ticket visitors for consuming alcohol in public — on the beaches and streets.
A first-time alcohol violation will mean a $75 ticket, but violators can face up to a $250 fine, if contested.
Holmes Beach police report 30 alcohol violations in March, down from 55 in March 2016.
The HBPD alcohol ticketing continued in April.
On April 14, HBPD cited a 69-year-old Bradenton man for drinking a beer at the bus stop in the 600 block of Manatee Avenue West. The officer observed the man drinking beer and placing the empty bottle in a six-pack container with other bottles.
More citations were issued April 16.
Three females from Hillsborough County were cited after officers saw them drink beer from glass bottles on the beach near the 4900 block of Gulf Drive. The officers also issued them verbal warnings not to bring glass on the beach and warned one female for underage drinking.
Holmes Beach police also observed a 32-year-old woman, visiting from Kissimmee, with a beer and grill on the beach. The officers warned her about the ordinance prohibiting grills on the beach and cited her for the alcohol violation.
Patrolling the beach in the 5100 block of Gulf Drive, police observed two men drinking beer. The visitors from Celebration and Georgia were ticketed for the violation.
On April 19, a 49-year-old Inverness man was cited for violating the city’s ordinance against public alcohol consumption after walking in the 5000 block of Gulf Drive drinking alcohol from a container in a brown paper bag.