Marion Hotel Part of Prostitution Sting That Leads to 30-Plus Arrests: 2012 Year in Review

Editor's Note: As the year winds down, Waukee Patch is looking back at some of the stories that made you talk, cry, laugh or just scratch your head.

Marion Hotel Part of Prostitution Sting That Leads to 30-Plus Arrests

• By B.A. Morelli
• June 23, 2012

A hotel in Marion was part of a multi-day prostitution sting in Linn County that netted more than 30 arrests.

More than 20 law enforcement agencies participated in the sting, which involved multiple hotels, including at least one in Cedar Rapids. Police arrested 40 people, including 37 for prostitution, in the sting that ended Friday, the Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting.

Officials are not disclosing the name of the hotels. A similar sting in Coralville, which netted 17 arrests earlier this year, tipped law enforcement off to possible prostitution in the Cedar Rapids area. 

Officials used websites to place ads and then used undercover male and female officers to carry out the sting, with prices ranging from $180 to $400, The Gazette reported, citing criminal complaints.

“If you want to sell a lawnmower, you go to a certain site,” Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner told The Gazette. “If you want to find a prostitute, you go to the same site.”

Among those arrested, according to The Gazette report, are Jeremy Brimeyer, 33, Joseph Kiecksee, 38, and Mark Ketchum, 54, all of Marion; James A. Girres, 66, and Mark Pelleymounter, 55, both of Cedar Falls; Dmitry Stupak, 31, and Bradley Rodriguez, 47, both of Iowa City; and Steven Baker, Jr., 34, Leisha L. Brzozowski, 21, Joshua Chambers, 29, Kelvin J. Davis, 48, Shaina Fay, 23, Mark Fischer, 63, Melissa L. Hogan, 27, and Stephanie Keister, 31, all of Cedar Rapids.