It seems that a man in Brunswick, GA is now offering hookers one-way tickets to Las Vegas where prostitution is legal. The only catch is that the hookers are not allowed to come back to Brunswick. Will it work? Probably not, but it is at least a new approach to an old idea. You never know until you try. Read the story at the following link.
Almetha Allen, 36, faces prostitution charges in Tampa. (Photo Courtesy: Hillsborough Co. Sheriff’s Office)
The sting happened along Nebraska Avenue in the area of Columbus Drive Monday night. Officers posed as “johns”, or men looking for sex, to make the arrests.
Patricia Warren, 26, Kennitha Christian, 26, Chaka Powell, 29, Danielle Scott, 41, Almetha Allen, 36 and Tanya Simmons all face charges of offering prostitution.
Saturday evening TPD conducted a reverse sting to arrest the johns. The sting, conducted at
East Lambright and Nebraska Ave, quickly netted 7 arrests. Officers posing as prostitutes were quickly solicited. During the sting, one john, who has lengthy list of trafficking cocaine, was also charged with possession of marijuana. Those arrested were:
WEAR,ROBERT L
WILLIAMS,GERALD DAVID JR
MORALESLOPEZ,PEDRO LUIS
BAILEY,ANTONIO VANSHAW
DIAZCARRANZA,MARLON RODOLFO
CESSNER,RICHARD LOUIS (
6806 Nebraska Ave)
TAVENNER,JAMES EDWARD
At 2:30 there were more hookers on Nebraska than I have seen in the four years that I have lived here. There were seven of them in the middle of the street on Cayuga at Nebraska. While I was calling this in, I noticed two police cars on a traffic stop in the 800 block of New Orleans.
About 15 minutes later, after watching many of the hookers get picked up and get dropped off, one of the police cars stopped and turned on his rollers (emergency lights) and the hookers started to walk away. Then the police car drove off and the hookers walked back to where they were. Like I said in last week’s report, they learn quickly. They know that there is no penalty for being on our street corners.
On my next pass, I noticed two police cars on a traffic stop at Cayuga and Talifero. I drove over on to Talifero and noticed that the officers had stopped the car from the front instead of from behind. It appears that this officer was targeting a John in his car as he circled around the block to make a pickup. About 15 minutes later, the police cars drove off with one of them stopping to turn on his rollers to move a single hooker at Genessee and Nebraska while ignoring the fleet of hookers on Nebraska between Chelsea and Osborne. I wish I had gotten the car number b/c this officer gets the award for worst effort ever at clearing the street of hookers.
At 3:15, another police car showed up, and this officer knew what he was doing. He pulled up on to the sidewalk and told a few of them to get lost and then started following them north. Most got the hint and left. One decided to see what she could get away with and decided to walk north on Osborne from Nebraska. This officer wasn’t having any of that and he turned on to Osborne to follow her. I didn’t have a pen but the car was either 223 or 323. He had a civilian with a light blue shirt in the passenger seat.
After this, I headed home. At the light at Hillsborough and Nebraska, I noticed three hookers on the north side of Hillsborough in the road between the gas station and the old fried fish place, now a pizzeria. I was incredulous. I pulled over into the right turn lane and then turned east on Hillsborough. I noticed a neighborhood watch car in the gas station and two police cars chatting in the gas station parking lot on the Nebraska side of the gas station lot. Those police cars had been there for at least 20 minutes b/c I had seen them in my last several passes.
I made a u turn and pulled in to talk to the OSH neighborhood watch car. Just then the two police cars jumped into action and chased down the hookers. Then a third car showed up. Apparently, the OSH watch car had gotten the cell number of the sergeant and he/she lit a fire under the two officers who were chatting while hookers were conducting business in the same parking lot.
I then rode north and noticed a hooker getting picked up in the Publix parking lot. I followed the car, from a distance, to give him a little scare. He pulled into the driveway of a home and then had to leave when the motion sensitive flood lights on that home lit up. On my way back to Nebraska, I noticed a few other cars lurking/moving slowly and generally looking like they don’t belong. When I got out on to Nebraska, there were a couple of hookers between Publix and Hillsborough. One of the police cars had returned to the parking lot of the gas station.
Also, from a little before 3am a K-9 car was parked in the lot of the big baptist church. I noticed the officer and the dog going into the back of the church.
Please print this report and mail it or email it to any city govt official who might care. It is apparent that we are going to get a show of force, a few stings and some drive-bys, and then we quickly return to having the most vibrant economic black market of sex in the Bay area. As a side note, there is an economics lesson in this. If the fed govt were this hands off with the economy, our overall economy would be booming.
I am going to see if I can get a video recorder so I can start putting these reports on Youtube.
Police say they are cracking down on drugs and prostitution as part of a 30-day initiative. Friday night, they set up a prostitution sting along Nebraska Avenue. Undercover female officers posed as prostitutes. It took less than 30 seconds for a man in a truck to stop. He circled the block several times, before finally trying to seal the deal with the undercover officer. He was arrested. Sgt. John Haggard says prostitution is a well-known problem on Nebraska Avenue. He says police are continuously combating it. “We usually get several complaints a night. Nebraska has historically been known for its prostitutes over the years. So we try and stay on top of it as the complaints come in. Tonight, we’re actually taking a proactive approach to it, going out and trying to pick up the people who pick up prostitutes,” he explained. Haggard says Thursday night, male officers posed as Johns trying to pick up prostitutes. Four prostitutes were arrested.
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/tampa_prostitution_sting_040409
Hello All,
I haven’t posted much b/c the earlier efforts by the neighborhood and the police drove most of the hookers out of our neighborhood. They never were completely gone as there was always a lone hooker who remained, either out of defiance or to test just how determined we were to rid the neighborhood of them completely. Even when a patrol car would make a sweep, back in Sept and Oct, one or two of them would return 20 minutes later, knowing that the police had other things to do.
In the last two weeks, I have noticed an increase in males on foot, on Nebraska, likely drug dealers. There always seems to be one hooker just north of Osborne on Nebraska. Last night at 2:45 there were four of them at the corner of Ida and Nebraska. I called it in but 20 mins later they were still there. There were 3 patrol cars on a traffic stop at Central and MLK, and another at Circle K during the mins after my call.
One other thing that I have noticed, in my late night snack runs is that in other parts of the city, patrol cars will slow down behind me and run my tag. If I go to one of the fast food places by USF, I get my tag run over 50% of the time on Nebraska, between Busch and the river. In the last week, I had it happen twice on Hillsborough, west of the river and once on Kennedy.
This never happens in our neighborhood. I can drive for an hour, on Nebraska-Florida-
2nd EMAIL:
Thanks for your post. I’ve noticed an increase in hookers but not in great numbers. However, the kids on bikes riding around during the day who are either runners for drugs or actual dealers is on the increase big time. I’m not sure they ever really went away.
3rd EMAIL:
If they would start trailing some of the cars for tag checks, they could give tickets for violation of the state noise law. Passed two years ago, it says you shouldn’t be able to hear car stereo from more than 25 feet away. A little enforcement of that law would improve our quality of life in this neighborhood.
From Today’s TBT
TAMPA BAY
16 nabbed in hooker sting on Nebraska
We suspect a few of the guys have some explaining to do.
By Alexandra Zayas
azayas@tampabay.com
Tampa police took on the city’s most notorious prostitution drag this weekend in a two-day sting that nabbed 17 men on charges including soliciting to commit prostitution and possession of drugs and stolen firearms.
The Tampa Police Department’s street anti-crime squad targeted the area of N Nebraska Avenue and E Emily Street in Southeast Seminole Heights on Friday and Saturday nights.
Lt. Diane Hobley-Burney said police conduct these types of stings in response to complaints from neighbors.
Residents of Southeast Seminole Heights have battled crime in the area for years, with “hooker patrols” that take to the streets at night with flashlights, shooing prostitutes away.
Illegal activity all but disappeared, until about three months ago, when neighbors started seeing more street walkers.
They recently met with police to address the situation.
“TPD was really quick to listen to us,” said neighborhood association president Sherry Genovar-Simons. “They have really been paying consistent attention to the area. It’s helped the problem enormously.”
Police said the following men were charged with soliciting to commit prostitution: Joseph Phillips, 46, Tampa; Louis E. Texidor, 34, Tampa; Michael Jimerson, 18, Tampa; Donald V. Jones, 47, Tampa; Eduardo Garcia, 41, Orlando; Kesnel Joseph, 31, Tampa; Jerry A. Booker, 43, Tampa; Gregorio Velasco, 39, Tampa; Kenneth Yana, 42, Spring Hill; Cano Bernadin, 29, Temple Terrace; Bigenson Lubin, 23, Tampa; Samuel Hines, 73, Washington; Robert Torrence, 44, Tampa; Ervin D. Sharpe, 39, St. Pete; Peter Sanchez, 50, Tampa; and Shaun A. Sanders, 29, Tampa.
Daniel J. Klein, 42, Tampa, was arrested on a charge of soliciting to buy drugs.
As a person is picked up for prostitution, are they required to take an HIV test? Should this be mandatory?
IANNICIELLO,VIRGINIA LYNN
Charge: Criminal transmission of HIV and Prostitution
Recently, on the discussion board, the topic of community courts was mentioned. This is a program in which violators of simple “quality of life” crimes are required to pay restitution directly to the neighborhood in which the crime was violated. These crimes are typically misdemeanors such as prostitution, dui, vandalism, etc. As I began researching similar situations with neighborhoods across the country, I quickly found several cases in cities/states across the
US where community courts have already been established. When you have time, I encourage you to read some of the articles linked below.
Within our neighborhood, I can envision these criminals either paying a monetary fine that will go directly to bettering our neighborhood. (i.e. decorative street lights, landscaping, signage, etc) For those unable to afford the financial restitution, a program of community service would be utilized in which the violator would be required to complete a set hours of service within the neighborhood. These services would be set by the neighborhood leaders. We could have them clean under the overpasses, a constant problem of our neighborhood. They could help landscape our thoroughfares. Remove litter, paint over graffiti, establish our own Senior Assistance program, mow vacant lots or abandoned homes, etc.
Spend some time reading the articles below then share your thought. Do you think it could be a viable solution? The great thing about community courts is that it could free up valuable resources from the city to perform other tasks. On a strained Parks and Rec department, we can have these offenders assists with maintaining the parks, mowing, litter, etc.
New Community Courts to Target Minor Crimes
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/25/local/me-4506
Indy Community Court
http://www.indygov.org/eGov/County/Pros/Prevent/CommPros/CommCourt/home.htm
Lesser Crimes & Offenses – Prostitution
http://social.jrank.org/pages/1293/Lesser-Crimes-Offenses-Prostitution.html
