Prostitute sting nets 11 arrests on U.S. 19

The Sheriff's Office and New Port Richey police sweep from Holiday to Tarpon.

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER
Published August 17, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY — She was hungry and jobless, so when night fell on U.S. 19, she offered to perform a sex act for a man for $20.

Turns out, he wasn't who she thought.

He was a Pasco County deputy on an undercover prostitution sting around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

A few minutes later, Heather Gause was charged with solicitation for prostitution and told a deputy about being down on her luck. Her name was added to a list of 11 arrests made during operation "Get the Girls."

From 4 p.m. to midnight, the Sheriff's Office and New Port Richey police targeted prostitutes along U.S. 19 from Holiday to Tarpon Springs, said Darryl Garman, New Port Richey's assistant chief.

"Our guys sorted information from the patrol units and residents over the past few weeks to put the operation together," he said. "We've done this off and on over the years."

Most of the targeted areas were in New Port Richey, Garman said, because of an ongoing prostitution problem plaguing areas near motels and the U.S. 19 bridge.

"This had been an ongoing issue for several months," he said.

It's an issue city officials know all too well.

Dan Tipton, a New Port Richey City Council member, said during the 17 years he's lived in the city, prostitution has been a consistent problem.

"I think it's a big priority," Tipton said. "We don't want it, but we know it happens ... it spurts, and it seems at times the Police Department will work hard on it for awhile and have to back off the amount of hours they put into it into something else."

While the city's code enforcement officials try to curb prostitution within city limits, Tipton said, there's only so much they can do.

"As soon as a bust happens," he said, "they move to another location."

Those arrested and taken to the Land O'Lakes jail Wednesday:

Gause, 37, April Henry, 37, Teresa Jordan, 36, Gina Gross, 31, and Rosalia Molett, 45, for solicitation of prostitution; Roena Siddall, 48, for solicitation of prostitution and possession of cocaine; Kimberly Donegan, 34, for solicitation of prostitution, possession of cocaine, possession of paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance; Gabriel Trahan, 52, and James Dukes, 59, for possession of cocaine, possession of paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence; Melissa Fernandez, 25, for possession of cocaine and possession of paraphernalia; Ashlie Coi Milano, 26, for battery.

Camille C. Spencer can be reached at cspencer@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6229.

[Last modified August 16, 2007, 23:22:10]