Fake ID use common in Bloomington

IU junior Whitney Daulton said it was relatively easy for her to use a fake ID at certain Bloomington establishments when she was underage.\nShe recounted one incident at a very popular downtown bar where the man checking IDs realized its falsity and allowed her in anyway.\n“He said, ‘Hey. I know the girl whose ID this is,’” Daulton said. \nInstead of refusing entrance or confiscating the identification, Daulton said the man said, “Don’t do it again.”\nDaulton was using a legitimate ID, but its legal owner was a friend of hers. Like many owners of fake IDs, she paid a friend to get a new license made in exchange for the use of her old license.\nWith thousands of Bloomington residents under the age of 21, the business of fake IDs is hard to deny.\nHowever, Indiana State Excise Police proved Wednesday that it is not impossible to thwart. They arrested IU student Nicholas Richardson, 21, from his apartment at Smallwood Plaza, 455 N. College Ave., on preliminary charges of making and selling fake IDs.\nPolice consider Richardson to be, “the largest manufacturer of fake IDs in Bloomington,” Excise officer Travis Thickstun said.\nPolice claim Richardson’s product is “nearly undetectable.” Good news for underage people wishing to drink, but bad news for establishments trying to keep their liquor licenses.\nKevin Burkett, a manager at Nick's English Hut, 423 East Kirkwood Ave., said in reference to Richardson, some IDs are so good they go through undetected.\nWhen the business discovers a fake, Burkett said they turn it over to Excise police. This practice results in about a dozen licenses given to Excise each week.\nIndeed, Nick’s has a reputation for being a difficult place to enter underage. They regularly have a person stationed at the front door with the sole purpose of checking IDs with the aid of trained eyes and blacklights.\nDaulton said she never would have tried to use her fake ID at Nick’s, because she knew it would not work.\nWhile Yogi's Grill and Bar, 519 East 10th St., also checks IDs at the door after 8 p.m., Joana Segyde, Yogi’s general manager and co-owner, said they do not confiscate fakes when they are discovered and the people are simply turned away.\nThe law is somewhat vague as to what establishments should do when they discover counterfeited identification, resulting in differing responses from area bars.\nThickstun said Excise wants the fake IDs.\n“If there is any question about whether it is real or not, they should not keep it, but turn it over to us,” Thickstun said.\nIt was because of dozens of seized IDs from local bars, liquor stores and grocery stores that Excise was able to begin their investigation of Richardson, Thickstun said in a news release.\nThe general policy Big Red Liquor is to ask for identification for anyone who appears to look under the age of 27. In addition, clerks ask those attempting to buy alcohol two detailed questions about their ID, said Rob Williamson, director of marketing and promotions at Big Red.\nEmployees at the liquor store chain also undergo training twice a year, Williamson said.\n“With the way these guys are changing IDs,” Williamson said, “it becomes more difficult to actually spot the fake ones from the real ones.”