Two Villagers working as clerks at Publix liquor stores have been fined for selling beer to an undercover teen.
The Villagers – aged 76 and 81 – were snared in a recent undercover sting operation by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard Dean Hopper, 76, of the Village of Belvedere, was working on the evening of Oct. 24 at the Publix liquor store at Spanish Plaines Plaza, when a 19-year-old civilian dispatcher from the sheriff’s offce walked in to purchase a 25-ounce Busch Light beer, according to an arrest report. The teen gave Hopper a $5 bill to make the purchase and Hopper handed the teen $2.32 in change and a receipt. After the transaction was complete, a deputy entered the liquor store and issued Hopped a notice to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of selling alcohol to a minor.
On the same evening, the teen also entered the Publix liquor store at Southern Trace Plaza. He selected a 25-ounce Busch Light beer, walked to the check-out counter and handed a $5 bill to the on-duty clerk, 81-year-old James Paul Brown of the Village of Santo Domingo. Brown handed the teen $2.32 in change and a receipt. Once the transaction was complete, a deputy entered the liquor store and issued Brown a notice to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of selling alcohol to a minor.
Each of the Villagers appeared in Sumter County Court in November and paid $343 in fines and court costs.
