Please visit this link to read our updated report on this major story:
http://knightnews.com/2009/09/ucf-helped-organize-undercover-drinking-stings/
Below is an archive of our breaking news coverage of the arrests at several UCF area bars as they happened:
UPDATE Sunday 1:32 a.m.
KnightNews.com is still working to figure out how many UCF students, and how many local bars, had encounters with law enforcement conducting an apparent underage drinking sting late Friday night.
Knightnews.com has been unable to reach appropriate law enforcement officials over the weekend to figure out what, if anything, sparked this operation that impacted several UCF area bars.
We are working to either confirm or rule out rumors that law enforcement’s reported use of decoys to catch bartenders serving underage was sparked by a recent DUI death.
If you have information about this situation you’d like to share, e-mail us at news@knightnews.com. We will not use your name in our coverage if you request we don’t.
UPDATE: 2:55 a.m.
The underage drinking crackdowns at bars appear to be over for the night, but KnightNews.com is receiving tips of DUI checkpoints near Mcculloch Road and Alafaya Trail still in effect.
As of this update, both bartenders we mentioned earlier, who reportedly work at Scoop, are still listed as inmates in the Orange County Jail. However, their status has changed to “bond pending,” so they should be released relatively soon. Their bond was listed at $250 each, for charges of providing alcohol to someone under the age of 21.
Because this is a breaking news situation, we have not been able to hear the bartenders’ explanation about how or why they became accused, but we’ll give them the opportunity to tell their side of the story when they’re available.
KnightNews.com did get reports that two freshmen were also arrested at Scoop around the same time as the bartenders, however we have not been able to officially confirm that’s the case yet.
According to sources close to UCF’s bars, these underage drinking busts came at least somewhat as a surprise. KnightNews.com initially got reports ATF was behind them, however the jail lists the Orange County Sheriff’s Office as the arresting agency.
It’s still unclear how big and how many agencies the operation involved, however the apparently coordinated underage drinking busts, happening just one day before UCF’s Saturday home football game, raise the question: How heavy will underage drinking enforcement be during the game?
In the morning, KnightNews.com will be all over campus, giving full coverage of the game from the tailgate lots to the football field, so count on us on your computers and on your mobile phones for complete coverage of the UCF vs. Buffalo game at home Satuday, Sept. 19.
Also, if you see breaking news, or have a tip, story idea or pictures or video of news, e-mail us at news@knightnews.com.
UPDATE: 1:44 a.m.
Scanner Chatter: TD’s May Be Next In Underage Bust
Right now KnightNews.com is hearing sheriff’s deputies talking about TD’s Sports Bar on University over a police scanner Web site. One of our readers heard this first, and shared the link to let us know to listen in. It’s unclear if another raid is about to happen there, but it appears likely.
Earlier, KnightNews.com also received tips that Devaney’s was raided by law enforcement after Scoop, but we have not been able to confirm any arrests there at this time.
UPDATE: 1:30 a.m.
BREAKING: At Least 2 Bartenders Arrested, Name Of UCF Area Bar Now Released
KnightNews.com has confirmed at least two UCF bartenders were arrested during an apparent underage drinking sting at Scoop late Friday night.
According to the Orange County jail, Michael Marsh and Derek Gibbons were booked into jail just after midnight on one count each of selling or giving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age.
They had not bonded out as of this update, however, both were eligible for a bond set at $250 each, according to the jail.
UPDATE: 12:40 p.m.
UNDERAGE DRINKING ALERT: Arrests Just Reported at UCF Area Bar
KnightNews.com has received reports of a second instance of law enforcement activity at a another local UCF bar, however, when we called the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to confirm the reports, we were unable to get confirmation.
An Orange County Sheriff’s dispatcher told KnightNews.com that when ATF conducts a raid in the UCF area, the sheriff’s office is “usually given a heads up,” and she was not aware of any warnings issued for tonight.
KnightNews.com got its first reports late Friday night of two bartenders being arrested at a UCF area bar for allegedly trying to serve alcohol to people under 21.
We are still working to confirm those reports, along with reports that freshmen may have been arrested as well.
We are withholding the names of the bars until we get official confirmation, however, our sources told us authorities were expected to be on the lookout for underage drinking throughout the night.
Check back for updates, or send us a tip by e-mailing: news@knightnews.com.
(The above report replaced our original report, first posted 11:44 p.m.)
