Kelsey's heart was pounding as the police officer pulled her aside and took a whiff of the spirits in her red plastic cup.
Rum and coke -- the 20-year-old's first alcoholic beverage that day.
"I was so scared," she said Tuesday in the lobby of a Daytona Beach Shores hotel. "I heard they take people to jail."
About ten minutes later, though, the Illinois college student was back on the pool deck, worrying about how she would come up with the cash for a $218 citation for underage possession of alcohol. She's one of dozens of spring breakers getting charged with underage drinking and possession of fake IDs throughout the Daytona Beach party scene, which started around Sunday.
Special agents know where the party is at and they want minors to know it. They head to the clubs at night in uniform. During the day, they're in plainclothes, checking hotel lobbies and hallways, pool decks and surveying beach activity.
Statewide last year, agents with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, an agency of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation arrested 2,874 people for underage possession of alcohol. Locally, they arrested eight minors for possession of alcohol and 31 for using fake IDs on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, four juveniles were charged with possession.
Although crowds are not as big as last year, there are about 4,000 to 5,000 students here for their college break, said Scott Edwards, manager of the Daytona Welcome Center, a firm that sells blocks of hotel rooms to tour operators. More visitors are expected over the weekend.
"It's going to be softer than last year because of the economy and also because Panama City spent $200,000 of bed tax money on advertising," he said. But Daytona Beach is drawing some students who are avoiding popular destinations in Mexico because of ongoing violence, he said.
For some, Daytona Beach is an opportunity "to change it up," after an already "amazing" trip in Mexico last year, said Jessika Shumate, 20, who traveled here with several friends from Fairbanks, Alaska.
By their second day in Florida, most of the girls were rosy from sunburn. Standing outside of Razzle's Nightclub, they said they were taking advantage of a $25 "VIP" deal for free admission and discounts at nightclubs and parties -- although one student pointed out that in Mexico, there were virtually no cover charges and nightclub deals like $5 for all you can drink.
"It was horrible," quipped Laegan Bole, 19, who said this trip is all about tanning.
Elias Drymonis, owner of Razzle's, who chatted and took a picture with the Alaskan visitors, said college students like them get a bad rap, when it's the "day trippers" that often cause trouble.
That was evident Tuesday. Combine beautiful weather, college students and an unexpected influx of thousands of high school kids who skipped class and it turns into chaotic day on the beach with dangerous driving, trash, and fights.
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Video Contest Winners
The state Department of Business & Professional Regulation chose two Deltona High School students for second place in the agency's "Why Not" Spring Break Video Contest.
Andrea Likens, 17, DeBary, and Kiersten Lampe, 17, Deltona, were sponsored by the Charmer Sunbelt Group. They won an $875 gift card for Best Buy.
The contest challenged youth, ages 14 to 20, to address underage drinking during the break. It involved YouTube and SchoolTube for peer to peer communication as a part of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco's education and prevention efforts.
In the girls' 30 second video, a group of teens appear to be drinking on the beach. One of them passes out. "What's the point of making memories that you won't even be able to remember?" a girl asks.
Check it out for yourself.
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Besides the smell of the ocean and tanning oil, an occasional hint of cannabis was in the air on the strip south of the International Speedway Boulevard ramp. Vehicles slugged by at 5 mph as students sauntered up for some flirting.
Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn estimated 80 percent of the crowd were juveniles -- locals and teenagers from Orange and Seminole counties.
"We had several full-on brawls," Petersohn said. "We pulled up at Sunsplash Park and there were like 40 people slugging it out."
Officers even confiscated a gun from a 17-year-old that was pulled over for a traffic stop.
Back at the Hawaiian Inn, state special agent John Kirvan was in shorts and a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, "Sometimes I amaze myself" in his attempt to "blend in" during his 34th year working Spring Break. He scanned the lobby, randomly stopping young people to check cups or mugs.
In some locations, he said he is testing a new tool called a Passive Alcohol Sensor. "It picks up the scent (of alcohol) in the air."
Being intoxication or minors putting up a fight could lead to jail, he said. But if they're cooperative, chances are they'll end up with a fine and a notice to appear in court.
If paid within 30 days, the court withholds adjudication and nothing gets mailed home.
Strangely, some students consider the misdemeanor offense as a "rite of passage," said Lt. John Szabo.
Most are cooperative during questioning, Szabo said, with about 85 percent paying their fine on time to avoid a warrant for arrest.
"We want them to have fun, stay safe and just play by the rules," he said.