By Billy Davis

Beer-buying stings at convenience stores in Panola County are being conducted by an ABC agent, Panola Chief Deputy Chris Franklin said Monday.

ABC is the acronym for the Office of Alcohol Beverage Control, which is overseen by the Miss. Department of Revenue.

Franklin said the agent, Daniel Dunlap, has been conducting stings for at least a month throughout Panola County.

Kathy Waterbury, a spokesman for the Department of Revenue, said the stings are routine and are performed statewide.  

In the sting, an under-21 teenager attempts to buy beer from the cashier, who is required by law to check the customer’s I.D. before conducting the sale.

Three beer stings have been thwarted this year at Corner Grocery when a cashier asked for I.D., said owner Larry Shearon, who operates the store near Plum Point at Enid Lake.

“I don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s great,” said Shearon, who said one of the teens in the sting was 20 years old.  

Franklin said agents with Alcohol Beverage Control were told in January, when Sheriff Dennis Darby took office, that the state agency would be welcomed in Panola County.

“We told him he’s got an open invitation to come anytime and do his job,” Franklin said.

A spokesman for Panola County Justice Court, Stella Lee, said the misdemeanor fine is “hefty,” $639 for a first offense.  

The county court has not recorded any fines lately, she said.