GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Police arrested nearly two dozen people in an underage sex sting in Gwinnett County.
Officers pretended to be teenagers online in order to lure the alleged predators from all over metro Atlanta to meet up and pay for sex.
The joint "Operation Spring Cleaning" led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Gwinnett County Police Department led to 23 arrests over five days last week and into the weekend. The operation had been in the works for months.
Detectives said some of the men brought money with them when they pulled up to the covert house expecting to have rendezvous with a 14-year-old boy or girl.
Instead what the men found were 40 or so adult police officers with guns and handcuffs.
Scroll to the bottom of this story for the complete list of suspects arrested.
Detective David Smith said, “Some of them were shocked. Some of them I would say freaked out and tried to run.”
All suspects ended up in court at the Gwinnett County Jail, accused of violating laws for trying to have sex with underage teens.
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Seventy officers from 15 different agencies pulled off the sting luring the men in by ads posted online.
Several of the men were seen in court Tuesday afternoon. Several lawyers tried to get bonds for their accused clients, but all were rejected.
Court hearing for 19 of 23 men arrested in sex sting operation in Gwinnett . @gbi @GwinnettPd @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/1KL6lpwI8e
— Tony Thomas (@TonyThomasWSB) April 24, 2017
The 23 suspects are from all over metro Atlanta. Court records show the men range in age from 19 to 48 years old and hold a variety of mostly blue-collar jobs, ranging from a janitor, to warehouse workers, to a mechanic, electrician and construction worker. Several were also unemployed.
Records show one man is a member of the United States Air Force.
Authorities said the men face felony charges and there could be additional charges coming.
The following were arrested and charged in Gwinnett County as part of “Operation Spring Cleaning”:
1. Scott Robert Baxter, Tucker, Ga., 34, retail employee
2. Andrew Sean Carroll, Dacula, Ga., 19, grounds maintenance
3. Brian Dwayne Clark, Winder, Ga., 41, mechanic
4. Alisha Gagguturu, Suwanee, Ga., 23, unknown
5. Connor Fionn Hale, Lawrenceville, Ga., 23, unemployed
6. Demetrius Deshawn Harper, Lawrenceville, Ga., 22, automotive technician
7. Joel Blake Jackson, Braselton, Ga., 22, gas station attendant
8. Rasesh Jagtap, Alpharetta, Ga., 33, information technology specialist
9. Akshat Jasra, Alpharetta, Ga., 35, software consultant
10. David Kelley, College Park, Ga., 22, model display builder
11. Steven Anthony King, Clarksville, Ga., 26, warehouse employee
12. Horacio Mendoza, Lawrenceville, Ga., 48, construction worker
13. Andrew Ryan Murphy, Norcross, Ga., 22, janitor
14. Max Park, Suwanee, Ga., 37, unemployed
15. Edward Harold Ramsey, Wichita, Kansas, 24, USAF
16. Melchior Simon, Duluth, Ga., 28, unemployed
17. Martinez-Torres Sixto, Norcross, Ga., 30, electrician
18. Brett William Smith Jr., 35, floor installer
19. Zadok Smith, Duluth, Ga., 27, furniture assembler
20. James Evan Soggs, Sandy Springs, Ga., 20, warehouse employee
21. Adis Spahic, from Lawrenceville, Ga., 40, warehouse manager
22. Ertiza Talukder, Lawrenceville, Ga., 23, hotel employee
23. William David Warren, Winder, Ga., 41, shop foreman
The Agencies Involved
1) Alpharetta Police Department
2) Atlanta Police Department
3) Clayton County Police Department
4) Columbus Police Department
5) Coweta County Sheriff’s Office
6) Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC)
7) Glynn County Police Department
8) Hall County Sheriff’s Office
9) LaGrange Police Department
10) Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
11) Marietta Police Department
12) Polk County Police Department
13) Woodstock Police Department
14) Federal Bureau of Investigation
15) Homeland Security Investigations
Police said their online ads are still running and there could be more arrest in the coming days.
Cox Media Group
