Two store clerks charged with underage sales

Cooperating witnesses were sent to two East Side convenience stores.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A drive-through clerk charged with selling alcohol to an underage man attempted to report the beer as stolen, police said.
Nasir A. Hamayel, when notified that he was being cited for an underage alcohol sale, first told police that $1.75 was tossed at him at Far Less Drive-Thru on Oak Street and the beer snatched from his hand. Hamayel then called the police department and said he wanted to make a report for stolen beer, reports show.
Patrolmen Ron Jankowski and Josh Kelly said the cooperating witness who bought the beer Wednesday evening had a $10 bill only and so could not have tossed $1.75. The officers said they advised Hamayel against filing a theft report, saying if he did he could be prosecuted for filing a false report.
Testing the suspects
The officers sent a 20-year-old man and 18-year-old woman to the drive-through Wednesday evening. The man purchased a beer and potato chips with the $10 and received $8.25 in change, police said.
The cooperating witness then identified Hamayel as the person who sold the beer.
Hamayel, 40, of Morningview Circle, Canfield, pleaded innocent Thursday at arraignment in municipal court. He'll be back in court Aug. 26 for a pretrial.
Also in court was Mohamad Dehgan, a clerk at Big A Market on McCartney Road, who is also charged with sale of alcohol to an underage person. Dehgan, 48, of Woodberry Street, pleaded innocent and will be back in court Aug. 19 for a pretrial.
Police sent an 18-year-old cooperating witness into the store Wednesday evening to buy beer. The witness came out with a pint of beer and then identified Dehgan as the person who sold it, police said.