Davenport Clerk Busted for Selling Booze to Minor in Undercover Sting

Photo byPolk County Sheriff's Office

By Ciara Perez, News Reporter | iSkyCreations - News & Media (ISC)

Published September 29th, 2024

Davenport, FL — In a turn of events that could have been ripped straight from a TV cop drama, a convenience store clerk in Davenport was arrested for selling alcohol to a minor as part of "Operation Pop Top"—a campaign run by the Polk County Sheriff's Office to catch stores breaking the law on underage alcohol sales.

The undercover sting happened on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, when deputies hit up ten convenience stores in the Davenport area. Their mission? To make sure clerks were asking for IDs and refusing to sell booze to anyone under 21. Sounds simple, right? Well, nine stores aced the test, but one store didn’t.

The 7-Eleven at 6023 US 17/92 North in Davenport sold alcohol to someone who definitely wasn’t old enough to buy it—a 17-year-old PCSO Cadet who was in on the operation. The unlucky sales clerk, Amber Jean Green, a 34-year-old from Kissimmee, made the sale and was promptly arrested on the spot.

Green now faces a misdemeanor charge of Selling Alcohol to a Person Under 21. Polk County deputies say she’ll be heading to court soon to answer for the mistake.

Sheriff Grady Judd had a few words on the matter, saying that "Operation Pop Top" is all about protecting young people and keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors. The deputies are determined to crack down on any store that slips up.

But here’s the kicker: while this one store didn’t pass the test, the other nine convenience stores played it by the book and refused to sell to the underage decoy.

So, a word of advice for anyone working at a convenience store—check those IDs! And to customers, let this be a reminder that the Sheriff's Office is watching out, making sure the booze stays in the hands of those 21 and older.

"If you're a sales clerk in Polk County, it is your duty to check identifications of customers purchasing alcoholic beverages. If you sell alcoholic beverages to someone under 21 years of age, it is our duty to charge you for that crime, which is what happened in this case." - Grady Judd, Sheriff.

Photo byiSkyCreations - News & Media