Fifteen convenience store clerks were cited for selling alcohol to minors in a crackdown by the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office. All of the citations took place from June 30 to July 1, 2014. The charges all stemmed from undercover activities targeting gas stations in Sarasota, Nokomis and Osprey. These are criminal citations punishable by jail time. The criminal justice system can be a complex place and should not be navigated alone. A qualified criminal defense attorney is necessary to ensure that your rights are not violated. In cases like these where the police are using undercover sting operations there is a real risk that the person charged was the victim of police entrapment. This occurs when the police create a crime where otherwise one would not have been committed. The question in these circumstances is whether the undercover agent encouraged the charged individual to commit the offense when they otherwise would not have committed the offense. In order to protect your rights and make certain that you are treated fairly by the justice system you can contact Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer Mark Zimmerman.
