The Polk County Sheriff's Office visited nine convenience stores on August 14, 2025, checking to make sure the stores and their staff were abiding by the state's law pertaining to alcohol sales. 

It was the latest round of the PCSO's Operation Pop-Top campaign, in which deputies are assisted by a high school student who attempts to purchase alcohol. The students who participate are members of the PCSO's Cadet 1000 program.

All of the stores visited on that Thursday were in the Bartow and Mulberry areas, and eight of the nine passed the test.

28-year old Dashara Cora, a sales clerk at the RaceTrac store at 1690 N. Broadway Avenue in Bartow, was arrested after she sold an alcoholic beverage to the student. 

"The law is clear, there is to be no the sales of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21-years of age. Stores and their employees know this, but the don't always obey that law. This is why we do these checks." - Grady Judd, Sheriff

Ms. Cora was charged with Selling Alcohol to a Person Under 21 Years of Age, a misdemeanor.