Police

State cops conduct another underage drinking sting; two cited

TIM GANNON FILE PHOTO | The state police barracks in Riverside.
TIM GANNON FILE PHOTO | The state police barracks in Riverside.

Just over a week after a clerk was arrested for selling alcohol to a minor in Riverhead, an underage drinking sting set up by state troopers Friday netted two more arrests in downtown Riverhead, according to police.

Riverhead Supermarket & Deli employee Breny Castillo, 21, of Freeport sold alcohol to a minor, and was charged with unlawful dealing with a child, a misdemeanor, and one count of prohibited sale of an alcoholic beverage, a violation, state police said.

The underage agent also bought alcohol from the Time To Eat Café on West Main Street, police said. The clerk, Felix Jerez-Estevez, 46, of the Bronx, was arrested on the same charges as Mr. Castillo.

Both Mr. Jerez-Estevez and Mr. Castillo were given tickets with a future date in Riverhead Town court, police said.

A dozen other stores were targeted in the sting and were in compliance with the law: Polish Town Corner Deli, Main St Quick Stop, Lucky Wine & Liquor, Stop N Go Mini Mart, Peconic Wine & Liquor, OK Gas Mini Mart, Village Delicatessen, MG Deli, Mae’s Deli, Village Grocery, Railroad Market & Grocery, and Oscar Deli & Grocery.

The underage alcohol sting was the second conducted by state police in about a week. On Nov. 20, a Mount Sinai teen working at a Route 58 gas station sold alcohol to an undercover agent and was arrested, state police said at the time.

None of the businesses targeted in the sting on Friday were tested during the previous operation.

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