RUSSELLVILLE (KTHV) – Russellville Police assisted Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) in a search warrant to arrest Alisido Melendez, of Pope County for the illegal sale of alcohol.
On the 1100 block of South Muskogee Avenue, police and the ABC confiscated thousands of dollars in alcohol ranging from beer to liquor.
Police say Melendez was illegally not only selling in a dry county, but to minors as well.
Director of Enforcement for the ABC, Boyce Hamlet, said, “it’s something we have to stay on top of. We have a number of operations going on across the state currently in various counties where we are working the illegal sale of alcohol cases.”
This problem isn’t contained to dry counties. The ABC says it’s a problem in wet counties as well.
The community of Russellville is bothered by this recent arrest because it happened within a mile of two schools. Melendez was selling alcohol one block from an elementary school and nearby was a middle school.
Neighbors are worried that something like this could happen in neighborhoods as quiet as theirs.
“We are out here to protect our minors we are out here to protect our community and something like this is something we felt the need to go into action with immediately,” says Officer Drew Latch.
Russellville police say they will continue to work with their community to make neighborhoods a safer place.
