Gigolo sting catches four local women

Undercover EPD decoy cruises Third Street to make busts

Humboldt Sentinel staff
7/15/09

Eureka

In a departure from the usual police sting on male customers of prostitutes, Eureka Police Department officers made four arrests last night of local women who were soliciting a “John” or male decoy.

The Crime Suppression Unit utilized a car borrowed from J&L Towing and Transport and put an undercover EPD detective behind the wheel along the notorious Third Street strip between the Humboldt County library and the law office of Tracy Herrin. This neighborhood has been the target of numerous citizen complaints about open-air prostitution during late afternoon and evening hours, according to a release from EPD sergeant Steve Watson.

During the three hour operation, the sting operation netted four arrests for soliciting an act of prostitution: Carrie Lynette McKune, 23, Kristen Leilani Hill, 36, Valerie Rondi, 51 and Laurie Ellen Damon, 33, were all transported without incident to the county jail.

The Crime Suppression Unit was formed last month out of the ashes of the EPD Gang Unit, and according to Watson, the purpose of this change was to expand the scope and mission of the part-time unit to encompass gang enforcement, auto theft, burglary, prostitution, vandalism and street level drug sales.

The unit is currently supervised by a patrol sergeant under lieutenant Tony Zanotti, the Field Operations Division Commander, and its objective is to take a more aggressive approach to suppressing street crime and gang violence. Currently, seven officers plus the sergeant serve in the unit.