Taxi driver busted in teen alcohol sting

A Ramona Taxi driver charging a special fare for buying alcohol for minors was arrested after a decoy operation that involved juveniles, young adults not yet 21 years old, and sheriff’s deputies, detectives and investigators on Thursday, July 23.

The next day, another Ramona Taxi driver was cited for operating a taxi without a permit, and the owner of the cab business was cited for allowing unlicensed persons to operate a taxicab.

All three were released on their written promise to appear in court, reported Sgt. Tina Tejeda with the sheriff’s Ramona Substation.

According to the sheriff’s report, several juveniles told a deputy that a Ramona cab driver was supplying teens with alcohol while operating his taxi, and he was charging a “fare,” or fee,’ for the service. Information reported to the Sheriff’s Department was that area juveniles had contacted the cab driver, Osiel Oros-Martinez, asking for alcoholic beverages. Oros-Martinez allegedly made the purchases, delivered the alcohol to the minors, and charged a fee.

A sheriff’s licensing detective arranged for the decoy operation the evening of July 23, when several teens and young adults under age 21 contacted Oros-Martinez and asked him to buy them alcohol for a party they were having. Sheriff’s investigators monitored the sting, reporting the suspect went to the “party,” got money and an alcohol order from the minors and drove to a Ramona liquor store, where he bought the alcohol.

Once the transaction was complete, Oros-Martinez was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to minors. When investigators learned the suspect did not have the permit required to operate a cab, Detective Steve Brewer took the taxi permit off the vehicle.

The next morning, sheriff’s Deputy Evan Sobczak saw a woman driving a second Ramona Cab with two people in the back seat and the cab’s taxi light off, indicating the vehicle was in-service with a fare. The Sheriff’s Department learned no woman was listed as being permitted to drive for the taxi company and, after Sobczak witnessed a fare transaction, the driver, Maria Lorena Cisneros, was cited for operating a cab without a permit. The taxi permit on that cab also was confiscated by the Sheriff’s Department, Tejeda reported.

That morning, the cab company owner, Ramon Oros-Pamatz, was cited for allowing unlicensed persons to operate a taxicab, according to the report.