Update Thursday, Feb. 29:
A 17th and final suspect has been arrested in a February sting operation in Hall County aimed at arresting suspects accused of using the Internet for illegal sexual activity.
Hall County Sheriff's Office officials said Thursday that Brandon McDaniel-Waddell, age 29 of Winder, turned himself in to the Hall County Jail Wednesday morning. He's being charged with electronic exploitation of a minor for allegedly soliciting a person he believed to be under the age of 16 for the purpose of having sex.
McDaniel-Waddell was the lone suspect to not be apprehended during the initial sting operation, which was held over the weekend beginning Friday, February 23 at an undisclosed location in Hall County.
The full list of suspects and their charges can be found in the original article below.
Original story posted Monday, Feb. 26:
16 suspects were recently arrested in Hall County on various charges, ranging from electronic exploitation of a minor to prostitution.
According to a press release from the Hall County Sheriff's Office, the arrests came during the continuation of Operation Good Shepherd, which saw four previous arrests in the county in January.
The ongoing goal of the undercover sting operation was to round up suspects who use the internet for illegal sexual activity.
"The most recent part of the operation began the afternoon of Friday, February 23 and continued into the early morning hours of Sunday, February 25," the release said.
17 suspects traveled to Hall County for the purpose of illegal sexual encounters during that time frame. 16 of the suspects were arrested, while one fled from the scene and remained at large as of Monday afternoon.
Of those arrested, four were charged with felony electronic exploitation of a minor after reportedly believing they would be meeting with a victim under the age of 16 to have sex. Eight of the suspects were charged with prostitution while four were charged with pandering.
Those arrested in the operation are as follows:
- Kimberly Rene Banks, 55, Decatur, GA - Prostitution
- Tegra Eishell Butler, 34, Elberton, GA - Prostitution
- Steve Ray Dotson, 34, Highlands, NC - Pandering
- Rene Gamara, 44, Bonaire, GA - Electronic exploitation of a minor (felony)
- Staveona Monnay Harris, 22, Gainesville, GA - Prostitution
- Andrei Konapliannik, 35, Decatur, GA - Pandering
- Jerry Mansili, 34, Gainesville, GA - Electronic exploitation of a minor (felony)
- Donald Jay McCurry, 57, Commerce, GA - Electronic exploitation of a minor (felony)
- Trashawna Shanay Melvin, 32, Fairburn, GA - Prostitution, possession of MDMA (felony), possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
- Antonio Orofino, 49, Snellville, GA - Electronic exploitation of a minor (felony)
- Frank Lee Sewell, 36, Nicholson, GA - Prostitution, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
- Matthew Tyler Harvey Shelley, 32, Commerce, GA - Pandering
- Tamara Ann Turk, 40, Cleveland, GA - Prostitution, possession of methamphetamine (felony), possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
- LaPaige Nicole Ware, 30, Gainesville, GA - Prostitution
- Cora Watts, 49, Norcross, GA - Prostitution
Brandon McDaniel-Waddell, 29, of Winder, remains at large in the case on a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Hall County Sheriff's Office investigators spearheaded the operation with officers from the Criminal Investigations Division, Patrol Division and Jail Division participating. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Floyd County Police Department and the Grovetown Police Department, acting under the umbrella of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, all assisted in the operation as well.
