8 arrested in BR prostitution sting

Baton Rouge police arrested eight people Tuesday morning in a prostitution sting downtown and in north Baton Rouge.

Of the eight people arrested, five had previously been arrested on prostitution counts, according to the affidavits of probable cause.

Officers arrested the five women and three men between 4:45 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

Seven of them were seen flagging down vehicles and entering unmarked police units with undercover officers, where they solicited sex for money, affidavits say.

Another person was seen supervising prostitutes and observing a negotiation between a prostitute and an undercover officer, an affidavit says.

Levi Jackson, the man officers said supervised the prostitutes, ran when uniformed officers approached him and took an “aggressive stance” when officers caught up to him at a ditch, the affidavit says.

The officers shot Jackson with a stun gun after he failed to comply with their commands to put his hands behind his back, the affidavit says.

Jackson, of 12072 Central Park, Geismar, was booked with promoting prostitution and resisting an officer.

The other seven people arrested are:

• Melissa Wallis, 30, 153 Betty Ave., LaPlace, third-offense prostitution.
• Dwan Valdery, 24, 3579 Victoria Drive, No. 6, Baton Rouge, prostitution.
• Gloria Simmons, 45, 2850 Iroquois St., Baton Rouge, prostitution, possession of drug paraphernalia and entering contraband into a penal institution.
• Deonna Quinn, 31, 1835 N. 18th St., Baton Rouge, second-offense prostitution.
• Yvette Pollard, 22, 1167 Stan Ave., Baton Rouge, second-offense prostitution.
• Joseph Mars, 43, 1814 Bay St., Baton Rouge, third-offense prostitution.
• Angela Dunbar, 36, 5252 Clairmont Drive, Baton Rouge, third-offense prostitution.

Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a police spokesman, said prostitution stings occur periodically on the streets or in hotel rooms and can originate from either residents’ complaints or detectives observing a high concentration of prostitutes in one area.

Comments

1) Comment by nimby? - 08/03/2013

tell ya what jed , take a ride over to brookstown dr . explain to the ladies on the corner they'll need to go downtown , pay for a license , show up for work on time , get a weekly screening to make sure they're clean , and at years end get to file taxes . love to hear the responses . there's a great deal of difference between dropping a credit card at a gentlemans' club vs dropping 20 for a parking lot favor . as you've noted this will give more legitimacy/options to escort services .

2) Comment by jedleland - 08/03/2013

your right but its not all simplistic black/white or digital 1/0. when a law is passed most follow it, includuing drivers. try out a new analogy, that one is looking worn. like i tell marchiafava, new material, man! i cited your 'independent contractor' in my response. the notion that a law is not worth it as some will ignore it is folly. David Vitters prost itutes worked from an office, and their own home, even visited clients homes. they also had employers who had a specific place of business. if 2/3 of pros titutes enter the legitimate legal trade, are tested, recieve pay and benefits even, contribute taxes, then is that a failure? what about 3/4, or 7/8? mooshine can be bought on the street or in the woods. everyone i know goes to the store. same with cigarettes. talk about not getting it.

3) Comment by nimby? - 08/03/2013

jed , sorry you don't get it . suppose they don't want to work in a house ? maybe a "part time" job , independent contractor , work out of their own home/office/vehicle , visit a clients home ? creating a law doesn't mean all will abide by it . the level of enforcement may or may not deter the street walker ...

4) Comment by jedleland - 08/03/2013

nope its a terrible analogy, although it seems the only one you have, and it gets a put to a great deal of use. drivers are very numerous and mobile so little chance of ever being caught unless you are pulled over for another violation and even then the odds are on your side. a bro thel would be in a fixed location as would its employees. just like a store, almost all of which are fully licensed, easy to inspect, and stationary. unless it was a mobile bro thel, in which case it would probably have markings, like a food truck, so would still be easy to catch. a pros titute could operate as a self-employed single provider but would there be millions of them out every day and night, as their are cars on the road? are they constantly mobile at 70 mph? or are they stationary, visible, and very few in relative numbers?

5) Comment by jedleland - 08/03/2013

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6) Comment by jedleland - 08/03/2013

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7) Comment by ebbette - 08/03/2013

Baton Rouge is #1 in the country in new cases of HIV. That should be reason enough to continue to stop prostitutes and their "bosses"

8) Comment by nimby? - 08/03/2013

jed , it's cheaper to drive without a license , insurance , till you're caught . perfect analogy . I agree legalization , licensing , weekly screenings , health cards are the way to go . but red light districts ? New York city removed theirs from Times square , Las Vegas has taken a more family oriented approach . my point ; what priority level would this be in local law enforcement ....

9) Comment by Chucky - 08/03/2013

And not one politician busted, yep seems the law is working for the right people. If your going to do it then be able to pay for it, like in a rented condo or another location or yea yea it takes $ not to be caught like maybe a security team or a third party to arrange the deal. The poor just can not afford this service.

10) Comment by ABayouBoy - 08/03/2013

If legalized, what would these poor girls do if they get an STD. I guess that they could file a claim for disability benefits....

11) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

although healing place has plenty of space available. might be a good way to createa new funding source after the Dino debacle. lots of donations dried up after that, and thats a heck of a mortgage and light bill. Two birds with one stone and all. Dino might even come back to lead the new enterprise.

12) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

the righteous folk that lead our community in jesus name sin in a more discreet way. brothels would be so tacky!

13) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

zoning would be tricky wouldnt it? thats the problem. but its a problem we will never face. this is right wing bible country. David Vitter gets his protitutes off the internet, Swaggart goes to Metairie and Dino over at healing place just used the staff.

14) Comment by mcarter - 07/03/2013

and where should we build these brothels?

15) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

it wouldnt be a victimless crime if it werent a crime. get thee behind me, puritans, prudes, ninnies, and interfering old biddies!

16) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

'ask poor old phil' i meant. go ahead, ask!

17) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

The auto insurance analogy is a very poor one. In every state most every adult drives. Not that many would be expected to be pros titutes and the infrastructure of regulating medical licensure already exists. Also union membership is moot in a right to work state. A bro thel would be treated like any other employer and certainly wouldn’t need its own special bureaucracy. Pros titutes would be employees and have to obtain some sort of simple license, much like every checkout person at a grocery store gets a simple license to sell alcohol. Medical facilities already require health checks of their employees. Whatever body that is (OPH maybe?) could certainly check on the status of employers in a brothel, and that puts the onus on a bro thel owner to maintain a license, and on a pros titute to get whatever checks are deemed necessary, just like a grocery store that sells alcohol. There would be very little to enforce, and much less than is spent on enforcing pros titution laws as they stand now. Its funny how quickly small government, free enterprise advocates embrace the heavy hand of law and order when their own precious morals are offended (just as poor old phil)

18) Comment by jedleland - 07/03/2013

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19) Comment by nimby? - 07/03/2013

federal bureau of prostitution regulations ....

20) Comment by nimby? - 07/03/2013

legalization would create more government jobs also . health cards , weekly screenings , yes . maybe even a union . how well would this be enforced ? in La motor vehicle insurance is mandatory , yet an estimated 1 in three in the state drive without . will all who apply the trade obey the law ? can imagine a visit to H and R Block with their W-2 ; remembering the line from Arthur , "are you a h**ker? "

21) Comment by nimby? - 07/03/2013

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22) Comment by NewsReader - 07/03/2013

Red Light districts are great for tourism. Just ask Amsterdam where it's been legal for umpteen decades. Or Paris. And both locations have some of the strictest health laws for them you can imagine. In fact you're probably safer seeing someone in the district than picking up some random girl in a bar. Same cost, different result.

23) Comment by zealer99 - 07/03/2013

"This is an old argument and people use the same reasoning that has been around for a long time plus a couple of additions." Legalization would reduce the risks of spreading diseases, it would reduce the danger to both parties, it would get the activity into a "red light" district, it would generate tax revenues for enforcement of regulations (much like gaming), and minors would be kept out of the trade. I also speculate that many (not all) of the sexual perversions would have legal outlets and that the injuries and trauma to involuntary participants would be reduced.

24) Comment by DMJ - 07/03/2013

If prostitution involves consenting adults and the industry is highly regulated, like in Nevada or Sweden, I see no issue with it. People have been trading sex for money, goods and services since they figured out how to have sex. There's a reason it's called the "oldest profession." The illegality of it pushes it into the black market where it operates by the rules of often violent people.

25) Comment by Whatnow - 07/03/2013

Why don't we go back to the old Japanese way of the Yoshiwara, the walled in city for prostitutes in Edo (old Tokyo), where owners of them can rent them out and keep them caged in. Next they will be kidnapping little girls to work for them until death or parents selling them for money which they still do in Asia. It's not the women who want to do this for a living at their own risks, but the exploitation of those who don't and can't get away from those who exploit them, threaten them, beat them, get them drug addicted and make profits from them. All concerned with any transaction only feeds that exploitation and are just as guilty as the owners.

26) Comment by foldgers - 07/03/2013

Wow... FYI for people out there, the Advocate does not like the P**P word when referring to supervisors of prostitutes... that is why my previous comment was deleted.

27) Comment by foldgers - 07/03/2013

"supervised the prostitutes" - Ha, just say the p-word! Anyway, where this profession is "regulated" and legal, the women are checked weekly or something for any diseases. In fact, I think every day they come to "work" the house nurse or something does a visual inspection of their "areas." It is cleaner and safer. No "supervisors of prostitutes". No men kidnapping them from hotels, just go to the business, pay up front, do your business (with protection) and go home. Women get paid for it legally all the time, but it is ok when the act is being recorded to sell, not sure why this can't be legal. All men pay for it and all women sell it, be it with drinks, dinners, presents or whatever. I can legally pay a girl $300 to come hang out with me. If something extra happens, then so be it, but all I am doing is paying for her to come hang out. It is stupid. Keeping it illegal puts these women at risk. In fact, if it were legal and regulated, chances are there would be less US sex trafficking. If they can do it legally at the Bunny Ranch in Nevada, why not other places. If men cheat on their wives, that is their problem, not the police's.

28) Comment by mcarter - 07/03/2013

tradewins, if you think these women don't have children being raised by someone else and supported by you, you are sadly naive. I'm sure all of you that think it should be legalized would love to have your daughter/son enter the "profession".

29) Comment by foldgers - 07/03/2013

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30) Comment by Bouncer - 07/03/2013

She works hard for the money..............

31) Comment by DMJ - 07/03/2013

Tradewinns, you're right...not about prison, but about prostitution. I know people who've been to war and to prison. They tell me they prefer war.

32) Comment by tradewinns - 07/03/2013

nimby, the diseases you mention remain at a very low level. if prostitution was legal, they could be inspected like our prime beef. you are not going to stop prostitution. while some prostitutes do get pregnent that is not a prevelent condition. pregnent prostitutes don't make as much money and children limit their available time. stop looking at prostitution with a middle class attitude. and zealer99, i'm all for leasing out our prison labor. the harder the work and the nastier the better. currently prison is an inconvience to prisoners nothing more. jail is even more lax. the only ones being punished in prison are the guards, and their jobs are hades.

33) Comment by Ivy - 07/03/2013

It isn't enough to just lock them up temporarily. Show them there's a better way.

34) Comment by mcarter - 07/03/2013

Victimless crime? I wonder how many children these women have and who is taking care of them, financially and physically. The cycle will continue....

35) Comment by zealer99 - 07/03/2013

I am not impressed with the effort expended on this operation. Louisiana leads the nation in the percentage of our people that we keep locked up and our nation leads the world in such things. Private run prisons seems to be a growing business and as I understand it their contracts specifies a minimum number humans available to be locked up for their profit. Did we go back to the old days where private businesses contracted with local government agencies for chain-gang labor, although in a modified form?

36) Comment by nimby? - 07/03/2013

introducing your spouse/partner to AIDS/HIV/STD's = Victimless Crime ? wasn't there an article recently stating these were on the rise in Baton Rouge ?

37) Comment by Being_Stupid - 07/03/2013

Prostitution is the oldest profession. It was here long before law enforcement and governments existed. What consenting adults of legal age do between themselves should be no business of the Government. Victimless Crime = No Crime.

38) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 07/03/2013

To Bayou Boy.. Yes, my friend but as long as women posses that special equipment, men will always try to negotiate for it. Some will marry for it and pay for it the rest of their lives and some only want to rent it for a temporary usage.

39) Comment by ABayouBoy - 07/03/2013

The reason for enforcement of these laws is to provide a foundation of ethics and morality in our communities. Prostitution also serves to increase the spread of disease - both physical and mental. It may be the oldest profession, but that still doesn't make it right.

40) Comment by tradewinns - 06/03/2013

lota od people want to decriminalize drugs because it is too hard and expensive to maintain. drugs cause lots of other crimes and hurting people. why not just decriminalize prostitution? it is the oldest "professions" in the world and has never been erradicated anywhere. yet we still spend money on trying to stop it. if you want to quit prosecuting something, stop wasting money on prostitution prosecution.