Sec. 16-176. Furnishing cigarettes to minors.

(a) Unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, give or distribute cigarettes to any person under the age of sixteen (16) years.

(b) Penalty for violation. Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon such violation, shall be subject to a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than nine hundred ninety-nine dollars ($999.00), which fine may not be suspended in whole or any part.

(Code 1977, §§ 19-9, 19-10)

Sec. 16-177. Possession of alcohol by minor.

(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Establishment means a business, firm, enterprise, service or fraternal organization, club, institution, entity, group, or residence, and any real property, including buildings and improvements, connected therewith, and shall also include any members, employees, and occupants associated therewith.

(2) Ethyl alcohol means any substance which is or contains ethyl alcohol.

(3) Possession of ethyl alcohol means a person has or holds any amount of ethyl alcohol anywhere on his person, or that a person owns or has custody of ethyl alcohol, or has ethyl alcohol within his immediate presence and control.

(4) Private property means any dwelling and its curtilage which is being used by a natural person or natural persons for habitation and which is not open to the public and privately owned real property which is not open to the public. “Private property” shall not include:

a. Any establishment which has or is required to have a license pursuant to article 46, 47, or 48 of title 12, C.R.S.; or

b. Any establishment which sells ethyl alcohol or upon which ethyl alcohol is sold; or

c. Any establishment which leases, rents, or provides accommodations to members of the public generally.

(b) It is unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years to possess or consume any ethyl alcohol anywhere in the City of Wheat Ridge. This provision shall apply regardless of whether any bottle, can or other container for such ethyl alcohol is sealed, unsealed or open.

(c) Illegal possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol by an underage person is a strict liability offense.

(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to the offense described in subsection (b) of this section that the ethyl alcohol was possessed or consumed by a person under twenty-one (21) years of age under the following circumstances:

(1) While such person was legally upon private property with the knowledge and consent of the owner or legal possessor of such private property and the ethyl alcohol was possessed or consumed with the consent of his parent or legal guardian who was present during such possession or consumption; or

(2) When the existence of ethyl alcohol in a person's body was due solely to the ingestion of a confectionery which contained ethyl alcohol within the limits prescribed by section 25-5-410(1)(i)(II), C.R.S.; or the ingestion of any substance which was manufactured, designed, or intended primarily for a purpose other than oral human ingestion: or the ingestion of any substance which was manufactured, designed, or intended solely for medicinal or hygienic purposes; or solely from the ingestion of a beverage which contained less than one-half of one (1) percent of ethyl alcohol by weight.

Subsection (d)(1) shall not be construed to permit any establishment which is, or is required to be, licensed pursuant to article 46, 47, or 48 of title 12, C.R.S., or any members, employees, or occupants of any such establishment to give, provide, make available, or sell ethyl alcohol to a person under twenty-one (21) years of age.

(e) The possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol shall not constitute a violation of this section if such possession or consumption takes place for religious purposes protected by the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

(f) Prima facie evidence of a violation of subsection (b) of this section shall consist of:

(1) Evidence that the defendant was under the age of twenty-one (21) years and possessed or consumed ethyl alcohol anywhere in the City of Wheat Ridge; or

(2) Evidence that the defendant was under the age of twenty-one (21) years and manifested any of the characteristics commonly associated with ethyl alcohol intoxication or impairment while present anywhere in the City of Wheat Ridge.

(g) During any trial for a violation of subsection (b) of this section, any bottle, can, or any other container with labeling indicating the contents of such bottle, can, or container shall be admissible into evidence, and the information contained on any label on such bottle, can, or other container shall be admissible into evidence and shall not constitute hearsay. A jury or a judge, whichever is appropriate, may consider the information upon such label in determining whether the contents of the bottle, can or other container were composed in whole or in part of ethyl alcohol. A label which identifies the contents of any bottle, can, or other container as “beer,” “ale,” “malt beverage,” “fermented malt beverage,” “malt liquor,” “wine,” “champagne,” “whiskey” or “whisky,” “gin,” “vodka,” “tequila,” “schnapps,” “brandy,” “cognac,” “liqueur,” “cordial,” “alcohol,” or “liquor” shall constitute prima facie evidence that the contents of the bottle, can, or other container was composed in whole or in part of ethyl alcohol.

(h) The qualitative result of an alcohol test or tests shall be admissible at the trial of any person charged with a violation of subsection (b) of this section upon a showing that the device or devices used to conduct such test or tests have been approved as accurate in detecting alcohol by the executive director of the Department of Public Health and Environment.

(i) Official records of the Department of Public Health and Environment relating to the certification of breath test instruments, certification of operators and operator instructors of breath test instruments, certification of standard solutions, and certification of laboratories shall be official records of the state. Copies of such records, attested by the executive director of the department of public health and environment or his deputy and accompanied by a certificate bearing the official seal for said department, which state that the executive director of the department has custody of such records, shall be admissible and shall constitute prima facie evidence of the information contained in such records. The official seal of the department described in this subsection may consist of a rubber stamp producing a facsimile of the seal stamped upon the document.

(j) In any judicial proceeding concerning a charge under subsection (b) of this section, the court shall take judicial notice of methods of testing a person's blood, breath, saliva, or urine for the presence of alcohol and of the design and operation of devices certified by the Department of Public Health and Environment for testing a person's blood, breath, saliva, or urine for the presence of alcohol. This subsection shall not prevent the necessity of establishing during a trial that the testing devices were working properly and that such testing devices were properly operated. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude a defendant from offering evidence concerning the accuracy of testing devices.

(Code 1977, § 14-31.11; Ord. No. 1990-850, § 2, 11-26-90; Ord. No. 1995-1005, § 1, 7-24-95)

Sec. 16-178. Harboring minors prohibited; exceptions.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to harbor, keep secreted, cohabit with, or provide shelter for any unmarried minor without the consent of the parent, legal guardian, or other person having legal custody of such minor.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to harbor, keep secreted, cohabit with, or provide shelter for any unmarried minor when such person knows such minor to be a parole violator or a fugitive from legal process.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons working in their official capacities as employees or members of the staffs of agencies licensed by the state and financed by the United States of America to harbor minors, nor shall said provisions apply to such agencies; provided, that such agencies shall at all times provide specific information concerning minors so harbored and shall release such minors to their parents, legal guardians, or other persons having legal custody of such minors, or to any law enforcement agency, upon request; and provided further; that such agencies harboring minors shall, within twenty-four (24) hours after the arrival of a minor, notify the police department, and within seventy-two (72) hours, if possible, shall notify the parents, legal guardians, or other persons having legal custody of such minors.

(Code 1977, § 14-31.12)

Sec. 16-179. Curfew.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any parent, guardian, or other person having legal care or custody of any minor who has not reached his sixteenth birthday, to allow or permit any such minor to be or remain upon any streets or alleys, or to be or remain in any establishment open to the public generally after 10:30 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or after 11:30 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday, or before 5:00 a.m. on any day except:

(1) When accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other person having legal care or custody of such minor;

(2) For lawful employment; or

(3) When such minor is in the custody of and accompanied by a person who has reached his or her eighteenth birthday and who has, in his or her possession, the written consent of such parent, guardian, or other person having legal care or custody of such minor.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any parent, guardian, or other person having legal care or custody of any minor who has reached his sixteenth birthday, but not his eighteenth birthday, to allow or permit any such minor to be or remain upon any streets or alleys, or to be or remain in any establishment open to the public generally after 10:30 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, or after 11:30 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday, or before 5:00 a.m. on any day, except as provided in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any minor who has not reached his sixteenth birthday to be or remain upon any street or alley, or to be or remain in any establishment open to the public generally after 10:30 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or after 11:30 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday, or before 5:00 a.m. on any day, except as provided in paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any minor who has reached his sixteenth birthday but not his eighteenth birthday to be or remain upon any street or alley, or to be or remain in any establishment open to the public generally after 10:30 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or after 11:30 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday, or before 5:00 a.m. on any day, except as provided in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section.

(Code 1977, § 14-31.13; Ord. No. 1236, § 1, 12-10-01)

Sec. 16-180. Possession of graffiti materials by minor.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person under eighteen (18) years of age to possess any prohibited graffiti material.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1) Broad tipped marker pen means a felt-tip marker or similar implement containing a fluid which is not water soluble with a tip that exceeds one-quarter (¼) inch in width.

(2) Paint pen means a tube, marker or other pen-like instrument with a tip of one-quarter (¼) inch or greater in diameter that contains paint or a similar fluid and an internal paint agitator.

(3) Prohibited graffiti material means any can of spray paint, spray paint nozzle, broad tipped marker pen, paint pen, glass-cutting tool, or glass-etching tool or instrument.

(4) Spray paint means any aerosol container that is made or adapted for the purpose of applying paint or other substance capable of defacing property.

(5) Spray paint nozzle means a nozzle designed to deliver a spray of paint of a particular width or flow from a can of spray paint.

(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating this section that the minor possessing the prohibited graffiti material was:

(1) Upon real property owned, leased or otherwise exclusively possessed by the minor or the minor's parent or legal guardian;

(2) Upon real property with the permission of the owner, occupant or person having lawful control of such property to possess such materials thereon;

(3) In possession of the prohibited graffiti material(s) with the consent of the minor's parent, legal guardian, teacher or a law enforcement officer in the performance of his or her duty; or

(4) Engaged in work at the minor's place of employment at the direction of minor's employer.

(Ord. No. 1279, § 1, 2-25-03)