Crime & Safety

Deputies: 8 Stores Cited for Selling Booze to Minors

A countywide sweep was conducted over the past few days.

SARASOTA, FL — A recent two-day sweep of stores throughout Sarasota County to determine just where minors can buy alcohol illegally netted good news and bad.

The good news, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, is that most stores visited on Tuesday and Wednesday refused to sell booze to minors. In fact, members of the sheriff’s office Juvenile Alcohol Task Force in partnership with the Department of Business & Professional Regulation were turned down at 50 locations. Eight stores, however, delivered the bad news by agreeing to sell to minors. Employees at the locations received misdemeanor notices to appear for their troubles.

The stores where citations were issued are:

Find out what's happening in Sarasotafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Lee’s Food Store, 5604 Swift Road, Sarasota
  • Sunoco, 3953 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota
  • 7-Eleven, 5420 N. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
  • Marathon, 3605 N. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
  • Shell, 116 N. Tamiami Trail, Venice
  • Mobile/7-Eleven, 1698 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice
  • Gulf Express, 2200 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice
  • Supertest Joy Foods, 2273 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice

Image via Shutterstock

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.