AUBURNDALE, Florida – An Auburndale clerk was arrested Tuesday after Polk County deputies said she sold alcohol to a 17-year-old who was helping with a sheriff’s compliance check.
Deputies arrested 60-year-old Orlandina Canales, a sales clerk at the Chevron gas station at 549 East Bridgers Avenue. She is charged with sale of alcohol to a person under 21, a misdemeanor.
The arrest came on November 10 during the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s ongoing Operation Pop Top campaign. A member of the agency’s Cadet 1000 program assisted deputies. The program is for high school students interested in careers in law enforcement.
Six stores checked
Deputies visited six convenience stores in the Auburndale and Winter Haven areas to make sure they follow state law and do not sell alcohol to anyone under 21. Five of the six stores complied.
At the Chevron, the 17-year-old cadet was able to buy alcohol, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff: Students are not in danger
Sheriff Grady Judd said the cadets face no risk while they work with deputies. He said the danger falls on juveniles who buy alcohol illegally.
“The students are never in any kind of danger as they assist deputies. The danger is to the juveniles who illegally purchase alcohol. There is good reason why state law prohibits that, and we conduct these visits to enforce the law, by making sure businesses are compliant.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
The Sheriff’s Office has run similar checks elsewhere in the county. Deputies recently arrested a Lakeland clerk for selling alcohol to a teen in another Polk County operation.
A charge is an accusation, and Canales is presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.