Hall County authorities have rounded up 11 suspects in a prostitution sting they conducted earlier this month.
Lt. Don Scalia with the Hall County Sheriff's Office Multi Agency Narcotics Squad (MANS) said agents started the investigation on December 15 at a location in Buford.
"It was to target pimping, prostitution, pandering and, of course, illegal narcotics," Scalia said.
He said undercover officers posed as both prostitutes and customers during the two-day sting. Scalia said most of those arrested were from the immediate area, but some drove a distance to the site of the sting.
"Most of them were local - we had some come from the Athens area and some come from the Snellville area," Scalia said.
Scalia did not offer specific details about why investigators targeted the area on Bristol Industrial Way for the sting, but he said such investigations are typically triggered by citizen complaints.
"Hopefully, it will stop it [the illegal activity] for at least the time being," Scalia said. He pointed out that once the arrests become public knowledge, social media plays a part in spreading the word that law enforcement is cracking down on such activity.
The following is a list of those arrested and the charges they face in the Buford-area sting: (listed alphabetically)
- Zebedee Harrison Frady, Jr. - Possession of Methamphetamine (approximately 1 ½ grams), Pandering
- Eric Johnson - Pandering
- Cynthia Louise King - Prostitution
- Bobbie Jo Lee - Possession of Methamphetamine (approximately ½ gram), Obstruction (F), Criminal Attempt to Possess Cocaine, Use of Communication Device to Facilitate Drug Transaction.
- Gaurangkumar Rajendra Patel - Pandering
- Nihar Dilipbhai Patel - Pandering
- Nirav Rameshbhai Patel - Pandering
- Tyson Cornelius Rogers - Pandering
- Timothy Mark Ryan - Pandering, Possession of Marijuana (M) (approximately one gram)
- Robert Glenn Westmoreland - Pandering
- Lyshae Renae Young - Prostitution
