Over 150 arrests made for underage drinking at a bar in Arizona | Law Enforcement Today

TEMPE, AZ - Authorities said that a crackdown on underage drinking in Tempe lead to 173 arrests with all the young adults and elder-teens facing misdemeanor charges.

According to FOX10, all of the 173 arrests came in one night after a massive bust at a popular Tempe bar when the new joint task force busted in. Eight of the 173 were booked into Tempe City Jail. Tempe Police went on social media to let people know that they were not there to ruin the fun of the night, but to keep those who were there safe. 

Underage drinking has taken over Tempe bars such as the bustling Tempe Tavern. On Thursday, April 24th, 173 underage drinkers between the ages of 18 and 20 were taken into custody. Tempe Police Officer Jessica Ells said, "There were minors in consumption of alcohol. So, underage drinking as well as fake IDs that were being used, which is what most of these kids used to get inside of that bar."

The popular bar is just a few blocks from Arizona State University's (ASU) campus and was quickly overtaken by the alcohol youth task force. The task force is a joint effort with the Tempe Police Department and the Department of Liquor License and Control. Police were tipped off about the popular bar after many complaints were filed against Tempe Tavern. 

Ells said, "There is now a bigger investigation that goes into the actual bar themselves. If they were in compliance, if there were any liquor law violations." Those who were charged are facing misdemeanor charges, which according to the police department, will not necessarily impact the young adults forever.

Ells said, "They have the option to take those classes, get diversion and have this cleaned off from their records. So really, it's just to teach them to wait to drink until you're 21." This was reportedly the second operation by the Alcohol Youth Task Force. Tempe Police said they expect more operations to come. 

In a separate incident, a professor at ASU of Social Work was arrested after police said he tried to meet up with an undercover detective who posed as a 15-year-old boy, shared explicit material with them, and propositioned them for various sexual acts. According to AZCentral, court documents said that detective identified themselves as a 15-year-old boy and used age-regressed photos of themselves when they began to chat with a suspect who was identified as Shiyou Wu.

Court documents state that Wu told the detective that he had borrowed a large SUV from his roommate and stopped at a store to purchase alcohol for the boy prior to meeting up at an apartment in Chandler where he was arrested. Wu is facing one count of aggravated luring of a minor for sexual exploitation and was placed on a $100,000 bond. 

After posting bond, Wu was released with electronic monitoring on April 20th. ASU's website listed Wu as being an associate professor and the associate director for doctoral education at the university's School of Social Work. A university spokesperson said in a statement, "Shiyou Wu has been placed on administrative leave and is prohibited from accessing campus or engaging in any Arizona State University activities while the university undertakes action in accordance with Arizona Board of Regents and ASU policy."