Undercover Sting Leads to Arrest of Lake Wales Clerk for Selling Alcohol to Teen

Love’s Travel Stop, 17309 US 27, Lake Wales / Google Maps

By Staff Reporter

iSkyNews.com (ISN) – Published April 6th, 2026

🚨 News Summary: Underage Alcohol Sale Leads to Arrest

Location: Love’s Travel Stop, 17309 US 27, Lake Wales
Date: March 31, 2026
Operation: Polk County Sheriff’s Office “Operation Pop-Top”
Suspect: Brandi Cutting-Millanes, 42
Charge: Selling alcohol to a person under 21 (misdemeanor)
Outcome: 1 of 6 stores failed compliance check

LAKE WALES, FL — A routine compliance operation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the arrest of a Lake Wales store clerk after she sold alcohol to an underage buyer, according to deputies.

The incident took place on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, during the Sheriff’s Office’s “Operation Pop-Top”, a targeted effort to ensure businesses are following Florida laws prohibiting alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 21.

Deputies say an 18-year-old participant in the Cadet 1000 program was used as an undercover buyer during the operation. The cadet entered multiple stores in the Lake Wales and Bartow areas attempting to purchase alcohol.

Out of approximately half a dozen stores visited, authorities say five businesses properly refused the sale after checking identification. However, one location did not.

According to investigators, 42-year-old Brandi Cutting-Millanes, an employee at Love’s Travel Stop located at 17309 US 27 in Lake Wales, sold an alcoholic beverage to the underage cadet.

She was subsequently arrested and charged with selling alcohol to a person under 21 years of age, a misdemeanor offense.

Sheriff Grady Judd emphasized the importance of compliance during these operations, stating:

“This is very important, and store clerks and their management need to be checking IDs and refusing sales to anyone under 21. These surprise visits are conducted often, so if you're a store employee, it would behoove you to act within the law, or it might be you going to jail next time.”

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says operations like this will continue as part of ongoing efforts to enforce underage drinking laws and promote public safety.

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