Culpeper undercover investigation results in arrests on soliciting charges.

By DONNIE JOHNSTON

Date published: 5/17/2005

Four men were charged with the solicitation of a prostitute following a weekend sting operation at the Sleepy Hollow Motel in the town of Culpeper.

“We have been actively investigating known prostitution dealing in the trailer park there for some time,” said police Lt. Patrick Coffey.

The sting, which was carried out by members of the Blue Ridge Drug Task Force as well as town police investigators, involved a female undercover officer who sat in a parked car behind the motel Friday night waiting to be approached by men offering to pay for sex, Coffey said.

Arrested were Tranquilo Dominquez, 20, Juan Trujillo, 26, Jose Calbo, 32, and Oquier Carbo, 18, police said. All are illegal aliens who are now living in Culpeper, according to Coffey. All were charged with soliciting a prostitute, a Class I misdemeanor.

Coffey said that the sting was called off when a Culpeper magistrate released all four suspects on $1,000 unsecured bond.

“I got a call from Detective [Scott] Jenkins saying they were back on the street, and at that point we decided to shut the operation down prematurely because of safety concerns for the officers,” Coffey said. “I think we could have arrested 10 or 15 more suspects.”

Coffey said that town police will continue to keep an eye on the motel and trailer park in the future.

“We’re going to continue to look at that until we slow the [prostitution] activity down,” he said.

To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON: DJohn40330@aol.com

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Date published: 5/17/2005