Photo Credit: TBINewsRoom.com
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Ten people were arrested as a result of a joint operation between Memphis Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. The operation was targeting those involved in human trafficking crimes.
According to officers, several undercover agents posed as 16-year-old prostitutes and communicated with a number of individuals via text message. The affidavit lists the suspects as Chelsea Bandy, Nathan Durham, Doubse Edwards, Cortez Holloway, Thomas Riedmaier, Lironda Knighten, Mark Pitts, Steven Scroggins, Patrick Watt, and Anthony Wolfe.
The operation began on January 21 and took place over a two day span. Each of the suspects agreed to meet agents at the River Inn of Harbor Town, believing that they were teenagers.
According to MPD, Bandy, 21, was arrested for prostitution. Agents say she was advertising herself for sexual acts on a website and agreed via text message to meet the officer. The officer agreed to pay her $150 in exchange for sexual acts. She arrived at the agreed upon location with a man who is alleged to be Cortez Holloway in the vehicle with her.
Holloway, 31, was arrested in the parking lot. He admitted to being the one who was “setting and operating the deals for Bandy” and was charged with promoting prostitution.
Durham, 46, and Edwards, 55, agreed to pay $80 to the officers, who they thought were teenagers, in exchange for sex acts. Court documents also indicate that officers also found drugs on both men at the time of their arrests. Edwards had three clear plastic bags containing cocaine, crack cocaine, and meth. Durham had 15 grams of marijuana, as well as three guns inside of his vehicle.
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MPD says that one of the agents told Knighten, 26, that she was 16 years old, and he still made arrangements to meet with her with the intention of having sexual intercourse. He also had a bag of marijuana and a brown cigar wrapper in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Riedmaier, 66, responded to an online advertisement and agreed to meet with an agent, who he believed to be a 16-year-old, at a local hotel. The agent provided Joseph with the address and room number, and he arrived with plans to pay the teen for sexual favors.
A press release from the TBI states that Wolfe, 52, was charged with trafficking for commercial sex acts. He told officers that he frequently uses websites to find prostitutes but told them “I don’t usually do 16-year-olds” although he did agree to meet with “teenagers” during the undercover operation.
Police say that Pitts agreed to pay a 16-year-old $120 for sex and was charged with two counts of trafficking for commercial sex acts.
Scroggins, 37, was also charged with two counts of trafficking for commercial sex acts as well as one count of felony possession of meth. Police say he admitted to texting “a teenager” and agreeing to pay $100 for an hour of sexual acts. He also admitted to having a bag of crystal meth in his possession.
In addition to the arrests, the TBI says that they also seized six weapons, nine vehicles, and thousands of dollars in cash and drugs.
River Inn management said they were contacted by law enforcement officers about potentially assisting them with the operation. They said they were happy to provide the location because they knew that the sting would potentially help victims receive much needed help from local services and agencies.
All of the individuals are expected in court on January 24.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
