Wrongful arrest in Wisconsin, police raid leads to dropped criminal case

While this may not be happening in Wisconsin, the authorities at work in this story violated the civil rights of a shop worker and then arrested him — the kind of case that has wider criminal defense implications beyond just the region where it occurred.

An underage person entered a bodega worker’s store on April 12 and requested beer. When the worker confirmed that the customer was underage, he refused to sell the minor alcohol. Unbeknownst to the worker, the minor then went outside and recruited a 51-year-old man to purchase the alcohol for him.

Furthermore, the minor was working for the New York Police Department the whole time, seemingly trying to rig a police investigation to make the worker look guilty.

After being arrested by the police, the worker pleaded guilty to selling liquor to a minor and to unlawful dealing, but now it is expected that the case against him will be dropped after the district attorney handling the case launched an investigation into the incident.

Everything was caught on tape, and the video confirms the worker had no idea the minor plotted to have an older person buy the beer for him.

The video also shows officers storming the shop and making other customers empty their pockets. Why would they do this? The police couldn’t find the marked bill they had given the minor, which they needed to prove their case against the worker.

“Once the person buys the beer and whatever he did with it outside, it’s not [the worker’s] fault,” said a representative of the bodega worker.