A routine compliance check by the Polk County Sheriff's Office had one Davenport convenience store clerk trading a cash register for a booking counter. The sting operation, dubbed Operation Pop-Top, is an endeavor to curb illegal sales of alcoholic beverages to minors, and it seems nearly all local vendors are keeping their noses clean—save for one outlier this past Monday.
During the sting on Monday, sheriff's deputies, joined by an underage high school student, made their rounds to a dozen stores. All but one store adhered to state law, refusing to peddle booze to the minor. Assisted by a member of the PCSO's Cadet 1000 program, which inculcates in teens an interest in law enforcement. Wanting to test the integrity of the establishments' adherence to the law, the underage operative—a cadet with aspirations in law enforcement—couldn't score alcohol from any vendor except one.
The sting operation's sole catch was 18-year-old Kween Baker, a clerk at the RaceTrac situated on 45119 US 27. Baker was caught in the act of selling alcohol to the 15-year-old student, a move that promptly landed her in custody. In a statement obtained by Polk County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Grady Judd conveyed his dissatisfaction with the breach, remarking, "It should have been all twelve refusing, but one sales clerk was irresponsible, and she ended up getting a ride to the county jail for selling beer to a 15-year old."
The charge against Baker—in line with state law—is Selling an Alcoholic Beverage to a Person Under 21-years of age, a misdemeanor that shadows many with repercussions far beyond the modest payment collected over the counter. Upon checking the rest of the stores, the other vendors remained resolute, denying the underage buyer alcohol at every turn, a test that reaffirmed the community's commitment to protecting its youth. Despite the operation's majority success, the singular failure sounds a sobering reminder of the vigilance required in combating underage drinking.
