Plainclothes Marshall County deputies are secretly parked outside a Glen Dale gas station, watching as an 18-year-old high school student walks in. The decoy is trying to score a six-pack of beer for Friday night.

The teen makes the buy, and deputies are ready to make a bust. It’s all part of a $9,000 grant helping Marshall County deputies target the clerks who sell alcohol to minors with undercover stings. NEWS9 rode along for one of the stings and watched as some clerks checked IDs, some didn’t.

"I was disappointed…surprised and disappointed that so many were selling to underage people," said Sheriff John Gruzinskas. “The first several weeks that we did this, it was about half of the places we went to were selling to the underage person."

In March and April, deputies sent a person younger than 21 into gas stations and convenience stores around the county to see where the decoy could buy alcohol.

And deputies are finding out, there are plenty.

There aren't any tricks to the stings. The decoys use their own driver's licenses, which clearly show they are younger than 21.

"Some of the employees had a type of register that you had to swipe the ID card through a reader and when it would not permit the sale, that person thought something was wrong with the machine instead of examining the identification card," said Gruzinskas.

Instead of turning the underage operative away, Gruzinskas said some clerks manually entered a date of birth that would allow them to complete the sale. Others didn't bother to ask for ID at all.

Many businesses did send the teen away empty-handed. The night we rode along, only two clerks out of 18 sold to the underage operative, but the sheriff said that's two too many contributing to the problem.

"I can't see where the adults are thinking they're doing anybody any favors," he said.

Word of these so-called favors appears to be spreading. Gruzinskas said teens from Ohio cross the river to buy booze in the Mountain State. It’s something the sheriff hopes will stop with the stings. He said every adult and every business needs to be on board in the effort.

"We'd much rather do this with their cooperation and with their help because we need their help. We need everybody's help."

The clerks who sold alcohol to minors were ticketed, but they have the option of either paying the fine or attending an eight-hour class that will train them how to properly check IDs.

The sheriff said one business owner has even asked if he can sign his employees up for the class before they make any critical mistakes.