Local News

Record Arrests During Florida/Georgia Weekend

Adam Kirk - Morning News Producer

@ November 2, 2009 5:23 AM Permalink | Comments (2)

The Florida Gators weren't the only ones with a big victory on Florida-Georgia weekend.

Local cops say they pulled off the largest underage drinking bust in state history.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Florida's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and University of North Florida police scoured areas around the stadium, Jacksonville Landing and RV City on Friday and Saturday.

They ticketed 265 underage drinkers.

In 2008, there were 138 tickets written to people under the legal drinking age. This year 10 additional officers were added to the enforcement effort.

Elizabeth Ledbetter with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco tells WOKV News that many of the drinkers were caught with obviously fake I.D.'s.

"A lot of times you'll be busting one kid, and another will walk up and say 'ha ha ha, you're getting busted,' and we check their I.D., and sure enough, they're not 21."

Authorities said that in some cases, the parents were with the underage drinkers.

Some said they considered it a right of passage and would rather their kids drink with them present.

The police crackdown comes as the Jacksonville Landing made changes this year to the way they sold alcohol.

All of the minors ticketed were given a $65 fine and notice to appear in court.

Tags:

Main Index | Archives | RSS feed

Avg. rating: N/A

What others are saying

This is just another fine example of what is wrong with this city. Let the kids have fun and watch to make sure nothing bad happens should have been the mind set of this city but no the powers that be turned it into another scam to fatten the city coffers with some fines for under age drinking during what is the worlds largest cocktail party. Shame on our city and I hope they move the game to a city that has a little more opened mindedness about what this game is all about a good time and good football. We brought in more cops from the area just to stick it to some college kids who came here for a good time what a bunch of BS.
By Mark @ 11/02/09 12:56:06 PMreport abuse
underage drinking
It would seem the Jax Police Dept. is in full revenue generating mode. $65.00 a pop times 265 students with mom and dad paying the bills sounds like a $17,225 economic shot in the arm to me.
One should NOT drink if they are not 21 years old. This is NOT something I condone; however, this being said, targeting a football game full of college students seems a bit funny to me. With one of the highest murder rates per capita in the United States one would tend to believe the police had bigger problems to address. (Crack heads being shot in the buttocks most recently) And why not simply try for DWI's after the game? The fine for this has to be greater than 65 bucks if it is money the city is after, not to mention they are a true danger to the public. I mean why not sit outside a Catholic church on Sunday and pull people over because they have wine on their breath?
Please do not get me wrong, I absolutely support the police and what they do for us. In fact it’s almost an insult to pay them what we do for running towards the things the rest of the public runs away from. Thank you to every police officer out there for doing what you do every day! Thank you for standing on that “thin blue line” for me and every other American out there be it in Florida or any other state.
By Johnny @ 11/02/09 10:10:08 AMreport abuse