15 Men Arrested in Prostitution Sting

The conducted a prostitution sting this weekend, arresting 15 men who are being charged with multiple offenses including criminal solicitation, prostitution, disorderly conduct and in some cases drug-related offenses.

Officers staked out the area around West Main and Stanbridge streets Friday night, Oct. 16, and observed as a female undercover officer posing as a prostitute was approached and propositioned by numerous men.

In each instance, the man would offer a specified amount of money (ranging from $7 to $100) for varied specified sex acts. Once a deal was established, the undercover officer would signal to back-up officers who would move in and take the suspect into custody.

During the sting, at least one man was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute. Ervin Thomas, 26, reportedly approached an underover officer posing as a prostitute in the area of W. Main and Knox streets and asked if she knew anyone who would want to buy heroin. The officer asked Thomas how much heroin he had and what he wanted for it. Thomas allegedly replied "I have two dimes, $10 each." At that point the undercover officer gave the signal for other officers to move in and take custody of the suspect.

Thomas was transported to the police station where a search of his person revealed seven clear bags with a blue wax bag inside each stamped "too strong." The bags contained what appeard to be heroin and a field test of the substance came back positive for the suspectd drug. Thomas was placed in a cell and the contents of the search were place into evidence and sent to a lab for further testing.

Additionally, the following men were arrested and charged with criminal solicitation, prostitution and disorderly conduct:

• German Martinez, 23, of the 500 block of E. Main St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for oral sex.
• Michael Griffin, 40, of the 500 block of Noble St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $7 for oral sex.
• Lonnie Scott, 37, of the 300 block of Buttonwood St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for oral sex.
• Ramiro Perez-Ruiz, 38, of Lafayette St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for sex.
• Salvadore Alvarez, 22, of the 200 block of Walnut St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for sex.
• Irinco Ortiz Gonzalez, 37, of the 800 block of DeKalb St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $10 for sex and oral sex.
• Didar Singh, 49, of the 500 block of West DeKalb Pike reportedly offered an undercover officer $10 for sex.
• Fiheem K. Howard, 26, of the 10 block of Hirst Ave. in Lansdowne reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for sex.
• Steven Briggs, 54, of the 1400 block of Powell St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $40 for anal sex.
• Wayne Hartman, 53, of the 1500 block of Garden Rd. in Lansdale reportedly offered an undercover officer $100 for sex.
• Ayman Basky, 43, of the 100 block of Prospect St. in Bridgeport reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for sex. Basky was reportedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest.
• Felipe Merlin-Valadez, 30, of the 100 block of Swede St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for "sucky sucky," which officers interpreted to mean a sex act. Merlin-Valdez was reportedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest.
• Marco Valdovinos, 29, of the 900 block of Lafayette St. reportedly offered an undercover officer $20 for sex.
• William Barber, 56, of the 700 block of E. Montgomery Ave. in North Wales reportedly offered an undercover officer $40 for oral sex. Barber was also charged with possession when a search revealed three small plastic bags containgin a rock-like substance believed to be crack cocaine, a small container filled with a leafy substance believed to be marijuana and a crack pipe. A field test was done on both substances and both tested positive for the suspected drugs.