Theres no question about that, said Steve Simonsen, who is the Loving County attorney and married to a cousin of Jones. Randy Reynolds, the district attorney in charge of prosecuting felony cases, did not return phone calls. Known as "Operation Home Alone", law enforcement officials used the undercover operation to target suspects believed to have been preying on young adolescents online. A week later, a Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association market inspector told Baker the cows had turned up at the Big Spring Livestock Auction in Big Spring, Texas, about two-and-a-half hours away. "Our effort is to deter all people from seeking out this criminal behavior, and, therefore, making our County safer for everyone.". Jones lawyer did not return phone calls.). In early January, they had a solid sighting on the nearby Wheat Ranch, owned by the family of a legendary wildcatter, J.J. On Feb. 22-23, digital ads were placed on known websites promoting prostitution. What is the biggest issue affecting Killeen? "There are known incidents, though many go unreported, of johns being assaulted, robbed and, right here in Bell County, recently murdered, Cruz said. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All rights reserved, Following a Delivery Truck? (Jones and the other defendants declined to comment. It is common practice for officers to engage in this behavior in a prostitution sting in order to gain the suspects trust and carry out the sting operation in Texas. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. One was also charged with resisting arrest. Each of the defendants arrests have been reviewed by the Bell County District Attorneys office and all criminal charges have been accepted, the release stated. According to federal officials in the Dallas branch of Homeland Security Investigations, one of the 46 men was Fort Worth pastor Lamarcus Strickland. What do you think his plan was?. The arrestees of this operation are listed below: Each of those arrested individuals were charged with soliciting a prostitute, a state felony in Texas. They can be subjected to physical and sexual assault, robbery, and even murder.. Although the names of the 46 suspects have not been released, the Lewisville Independent School District confirmed Marcus High School teacher and football coach Cecil Tim Morrison was among them. Nov. 2, 2015. What do you think his plan was?. I positively identified the pair as being the same reddish-brown cow and calf I had released in Loving County, he wrote. Example video title will go here for this video. I applaud the dedication of these task force groups, including members of the Dallas Police Department, to bring these suspects to justice. A youth pastor. More than 60 men have been snared in a sting operation as they allegedly tried to pay for sex earlier this year at a bogus modeling studio police opened in the Houston area. The arrests were the result of a join human trafficking operation between multiple local law enforcement agencies. Our effort is to deter all people from seeking out this criminal behavior, and, therefore, making our County safer for everyone.. He later learned that ranch hand Cody Williams, 31, caught the cow, according to the warrants. Be Proactive. Ten Central Texas men ranging in age from 23 to 77 are charged with state jail felonies 10 men were arrested Wednesday and Thursday in a sting operation The warrants allege that Jones and the ranch hands rounded up stray livestock in Loving and Pecos counties and sold them at auctions in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico without first notifying the Sheriffs Office to find their rightful owners a violation of a state law. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Forty-six men who included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital were recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas, a federal agency announced on Friday. The Bell County Sheriffs Department, with its partners the Bell County Texas just became the first state to make a first-time solicitation of prostitution offense a felony. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Law officials say 15 arrests were made following an undercover online child solicitation operation. "There's thousands and thousands of ads posted every day in the metroplex," Perez said. Investigators said the alleged list of crimes ranges from meeting victims to possessing harmful material on electronics. Ten people were arrested, Skeet, hes not ours, Sparks recalled saying in an interview with NBC News. BELTON, Texas (FOX 44) A prostitution sting in Bell County has resulted in ten arrests. Baker wrote in the warrants that he had spoken briefly with the judge, whose late father, Elgin Punk Jones served as the sheriff for 28 years. And an operations director of a large hospital network. Fort Worth youth pastor Lamarcus Strickland was also arrested, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. They can be subjected to physical and sexual assault, robbery and even murder.. Loving County, the least-populated county in the continental U.S., had 57 residents as of the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate. FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) Federal authorities announced a major crackdown on prostitution that reveals sex trafficking in North Texas remains an ongoing problem. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. Market data provided by Factset. A youth pastor was among the 46 men arrested after an investigation revealed those suspected behind sex trafficking cases in North Texas, according to a report from CBS News. In Frisco, two hotels were used for the undercover operation by the Department of Homeland Security. or redistributed. These were among the 46 men arrested in a massive The story behind the cattle sting starts on March 2, 2021, when Special Ranger Marty Baker, 58, was dispatched from Midland, Texas, to Loving County to investigate the shooting deaths of five black stray cattle. MENTONE, Texas On a December day in 2021, Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, climbed atop an oilfield tank surrounded by wide-open Texas desert dressed in a business suit and toting a pair of binoculars, hoping to spot an elusive black bull. Under Texas law, grand jurors cannot be related by blood or marriage. On Thursday, the Collin County Sheriff's Office announced its successful sting operation that took place from March 22 through March 24. North Texas Porch Thieves Becoming Bolder, Fort Worth Reviews Violent Crime Response Initiative, At Least 36 Dead After Trains Collide Head-on in Greece: Indescribable Tragedy', LIVE RADAR: Severe T-Storm Watch Until Noon, Powerful Storms Forecast for Thursday, The Pandemic Altered Many Things, Including Alcohol AbuseThese Are the Warning Signs. J.D. Then Baker got a tip on Nov. 4 that the reddish-brown cow and her calf had been captured and were penned up on the Joneses family ranch, the warrants state. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, Right? Baker obtained a brownish-red cow and calf and a black bull and equipped them with microchips. Fuchs said the investigation is ongoing and could result in more charges. Jeremy Fuchs, a spokesman for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a cadre of peace officers who specialize in agricultural crimes, said the organization stands by the arrests of the judge and the other defendants. The men arrested also included a high school football coach and a director of operations at a hospital. A youth pastor was among the 46 men arrested after an investigation revealed those suspected behind sex trafficking cases in North Texas, according to a Some of the conversation seemed strange at the time, Baker noted. Low 66F. accounts, the history behind an article. North Texas is under storm risk levels 2, 3 and 4. What is a police sting operation? Baker asked if theyd contacted the sheriffs office and Williams replied that it was above his pay grade. High 83F. In addition to the trafficking task force, agencies that took part in this months operation included the Arlington, Colleyville, Dallas, Flower Mound, Frisco, Irving and Midlothian police departments; the Collin, Dallas and Tarrant county sheriffs departments; and the Dallas County district attorneys office. Possession of Child Pornography Possession of Lewd Visual Material Texas DPS, Michael W. Newhouse, Sr. ", Perez added that this sting operation proves that sex trafficking is prevalent everywhere. On the first day of the operation, six individuals were arrested. Authorities in Texas have arrested at least 30 people intending to buy sex and rescued a child over three days as part of an undercover human trafficking investigation The men looking to pay for sex responded to the ads, arrived at the hotels in Frisco and Southlake, and were greeted by police officers waiting for them. "The victims of these heinous crimes are treated like commodities, used to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn told Fox 4. Rich said many of the arrests were the result of leads generated through reporting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Amanda Brim, Lewisville ISDs Chief Communications Officer, said Monday that Morrison was placed on administrative leave when the district was made aware of his arrest, and last week, he submitted his resignation. According to federal officials in the Dallas branch of Homeland Security Investigations, one of the 46 men was Fort Worth pastor Lamarcus Strickland. The Bell County Sheriffs Department, with its partners the Bell County Organized Crime Unit, th According to LPD, the sting was conducted on February 9 in the 5800 block of 6th Street. Scott Wooden was arrested on Feb. 11 during a prostitution sting operation conducted by the Polk County Sheriffs Department. 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