Published August 21st, 2025
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BARTOW, FL – A Bartow convenience store clerk has been arrested after selling alcohol to a minor during a compliance check by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).
On Thursday, August 14, 2025, PCSO deputies visited nine convenience stores in the Bartow and Mulberry areas as part of the agency’s ongoing Operation Pop-Top campaign. The program uses high school students, who are members of the PCSO’s Cadet 1000 program, to attempt alcohol purchases under law enforcement supervision.
According to investigators, eight of the nine stores refused the sale. However, deputies say 28-year-old Dashara Cora, a sales clerk at the RaceTrac located at 1690 N. Broadway Avenue in Bartow, sold an alcoholic beverage to the underage decoy.
Cora was arrested at the store and charged with Selling Alcohol to a Person Under 21 Years of Age, a misdemeanor offense.
Sheriff Grady Judd emphasized the importance of these checks in protecting the community:
“The law is clear, there is to be no sales of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 years of age. Stores and their employees know this, but they don’t always obey that law. This is why we do these checks.”
The sheriff’s office noted that Operation Pop-Top will continue across Polk County to ensure compliance and deter illegal sales to minors.
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