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Fifteen male suspects ranging from their 20’s to their 50’s were arrested in an undercover prostitution sting conducted in Cypress last week by the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 Office.
Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said the sting was conducted mostly near North Harris county schools, businesses and neighborhoods in preparation for the summer months when children are out of school.
Undercover female officers arrested the 15 suspects and charged them with prostitution, a class B misdemeanor. The operation was held in the area of FM 1960 from Kuykendhal east to Aldine Westfield, Herman said.
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All of the suspects received a bail of $100. One of the suspects, Tomas Gonzalez was arrested twice during the operation. Herman said after Gonzalez made his $100 bail he was arrested the the very next day along with his daughter for interfering in the operation when he saw an undercover female officer and tried to warn another suspect.
“[He] and his daughter basically ran up to the location and started yelling ‘She’s a cop, she’s a cop,'” Herman said.
Gonzalez was arrested again and his daughter was also arrested for interfering with public duties of a police officer. Herman expressed frustration with the district attorney’s office after the interfering charge against Gonzalez were dropped.
“I am very concerned about those charges,” Herman said. “I have reached out tot he DA…they are looking into that. … We feel confident that they will hopefully reinstate the charges but I guess time will tell.”
Herman said the low bonds the suspects receive contribute to the risk officer’s face when out conducting undercover operations.
“From a public safety standpoint, I am very concerned what message are we sending to the human trafficking victims on the streets. We are out here trying to make a difference, protect our streets, get the area safe for the kids getting out of school and everyone one of these individuals got a $100 bond – $10 and they are out.”
Herman said some of the suspects were also arrested for drug charges and warrants. He said despite the low bonds being issued and the DA’s decision to drop Gonzalez’s charges, his team is dedicated to cleaning up the streets.
“What bothers me is when people compromise the safety of men and women in blue,” Herman said. “The DA’s office takes charges and then they just dismiss the charges. I have a real issue with that, and I think we all should.”