genderberg.com

Prostitution sting nets 21

ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR

ROCKFORD — A week after a prostitution sweep resulted in the arrests of 21 women and three men, police made another sweep late Thursday to early Friday and arrested 19 men and two women.

During this detail, female officers posed as prostitutes. The sweep occurred at various locations within the city.

Arrested were Jose A. Roman, 36, solicitation of a sex act; Kelvin K. Jackson, 26, loitering; Larry M. Dauphin, 41, solicitation of a sex act; Joel Garcia, 31, solicitation of a sex act; Fidel Burciaga, 27, solicitation of a sex act; Brian A. Waterson, 39, public indecency.

Cornelio Flores, 27, solicitation of a sex act; Michael P. Blomberg, 27, solicitation of a sex act; Michael T. Watson, 26, solicitation of a sex act; John T. Brown, 27, driving after suspension.

Jonathan M. Race, 18, solicitation of a sex act; Roger W. Shoemaker, 33, solicitation of a sex act; Walter E. Hammond, 35, solicitation of a sex act; Michael Davis, 22, solicitation of a sex act; Alfred J. Galluzzo, 44, of solicitation of a sex act and driving under the influence.

Jhony I. Sebastian, age not provided, solicitation of a sex act; Larry Woodside, 35, solicitation of a sex act; Timothy L. Miller, 24, solicitation of a sex act.

The two women arrested were Jennifer D. Torrissi, 33, wanted on a warrant; and Alfredia L. Byrd, 34, possession of drug paraphernalia.

Prostitution and drugs
3-week investigation in Athens results in charges against 11 men


By Chris Paschenko
DAILY Staff Writer
chris@decaturdaily.com · 340-2442

ATHENS — Athens police charged 11 men during a three-week investigation into prostitution and drug activity.

The arrests resulted from the department's first-ever crackdown on sexual solicitation and its accompanying illegal drug trade.

Capt. Marty Bruce said police charged nine men with soliciting prostitution. The men face misdemeanor charges of offering undercover female officers money in exchange for sex, Bruce said.

Four men, including two not charged with solicitation, face felony drug charges in connection with the sting, Bruce said.

"We were doing it over three different nights," Bruce said. "The females were in areas where men approached them. We withheld (publicity) to continue the operation. We wanted to get some more arrests before releasing it."

Bruce said officers concentrated their efforts along U.S. 31 and Washington and Hine streets.

Melvin Mahaley Jr., 53, of Athens invited an undercover female into his motel room at the Budget Inn, Bruce said. When officers entered the room to arrest Mahaley, he handed the female a crack pipe to hide from police, Bruce said.

Mahaley, of 19342 Ruffwood Lane, faces charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and soliciting prostitution.

Willie Lee Williams, 40, of 606 U.S. 31, Athens, was in the room and in possession of crack cocaine, Bruce said. Police charged him with unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

A man who answered the Budget Inn office telephone Saturday evening declined comment.

Police charged two others with felony marijuana possession. Bruce said Jason Daniel Gee, 25, of Athens stopped to talk to an undercover female, and officers found marijuana in his vehicle. Gee, of 1601 W. Elm St., wasn't charged with soliciting prostitution, but faces a first-degree marijuana possession charge.

Officers also allegedly found marijuana and controlled substances in Lance Lee Campbell's vehicle.

Bruce said Campbell, 31, of 23914 Pressnell Road, Athens, had a "large amount" of Xanax and Lortab medication. Following an interview with the Athens-Limestone Drug Task Force, Bruce said, Campbell led officers to a pound of marijuana. Officers also confiscated about $5,000 in cash, Bruce said.

"He initially had a pound of marijuana at his house," Bruce said. "I'm not exactly sure where, but we located it somewhere in the county."

Campbell faces charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, first-degree marijuana possession and soliciting prostitution.

Bruce said all 11 men — 10 from Athens and one from Sheffield — were free on bond. Police plan more prostitution stings, he said.

"This is the first time we've ever done a prostitution sting like this," Bruce said. "We just noticed quite a bit of activity, and we decided we could do something about it and curb the activities."

Bruce said prostitution is a major contributor to the drug trade in Athens, and most prostitutes are drug addicts and use the money they receive to purchase drugs.

"Football and sex belong together," claimed the lawyer of the newly opened 3,000-meter mega-brothel in Berlin, built next to the main World Cup venue to accommodate 650 male clients.

The province is stepping up efforts to deter prostitution in the streets of Winnipeg, launching a new plan aimed to balance punishment and education.

The action plan introduces a combination of tougher penalties for the customers of prostitutes and more help for women who want to get off the streets.

HAMILTON, Ohio -- Investigators arrested a dozen people during a 13-hour prostitution sting.

Officers conducted a sweep from 2 p.m. Thursday until 3 a.m. Friday.

Arrested were Ronnie Lynch, Mark Hatmaker, Andrew Malone, Zane Gray, Galacio Oliveres, James Schmidt, Tanya Holland, Elizabeth A. Smith, Deborah Galyon, Donna Rose, Eric Smith and Marla Adams.

All but Smith and Adams have been charged with soliciting. Smith was charged with a bench warrant, failure to appear on bond and failure to comply with a court order. Adams was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Nine busted in prostitution sting

Nine men were arrested in Bossier City over the weekend in a prostitution sting targeting would-be customers.

Police said officers posed as prostitutes Friday night and early Saturday. They would not say where the vice operation occurred because they don't want to tip people where they are working.

Arrested on charges they offered undercover officers money in return for sex were: Jairo Marin, 30, Cesar Gomez, 34, and Jose Alvarado, 30, all of the 7000 block of Fern Avenue in Shreveport; Salgado Aguirre, 20, and Cruz Ortega, 27, both of Fort Worth; Scott Ellis, 44, of Lovers Lane in Shreveport; Curtis Woodard, 34, of Beckett Street in Bossier City; and Mario Saucedo, 21, and Francisco Madero, 30, both of West 80th Street in Shreveport.

Each man faces misdemeanor prostitution charges.