Store Employee Charged With Selling Tobacco To Minor In Westchester

An employee at a store in Northern Westchester was caught selling tobacco to a minor during an enforcement detail, police said.

742 Bedford Road in Bedford Hills.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps*

Joe Lombardi

06/19/2019 5:03 p.m.

YiJian Liu, 45, of Brooklyn at The Smoke Shop, located at 742 Bedford Road in Bedford Hills was charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, a Class B misdemeanor on Wednesday, June 19 at approximately 2:20 p.m., said Bedford Police Department Lt. Andrew M. Bellantone.

The Bedford Police Department, in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Health and the Lewisboro Police Department, conducted a controlled purchase of tobacco using a minor under the age of 18. The minor works for the Westchester County Department of Health.

The Department of Health also issued the establishment owner two separate summonses - one for not attempting to ID a minor, and the other for improper/no signage.

It was the second local establishment put to the test Wednesday, Bellantone said. The first, a deli in Depot Plaza, properly ID’d the minor, and did not sell tobacco products in violation of the law.

Liu was released on $200 bail, and is due back in the Bedford Justice Court on Tuesday, July 1.

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