MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the Texas Department of Public Safety wanted to do their part.
Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division conducted several operations in the West Texas region during January. The operation's goal was to target people seeking to exploit and victimize trafficking victims and to find people suspected of being involved in human trafficking. They did this by using various websites to solicit sexual acts. This operation led to more than 50 arrests in the West Texas area.
Agencies who helped this investigation were Texas Highway Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Midland PD, Odessa PD, Midland County SO, Monahans PD, San Angelo PD, Tom Green County SO, FBI, El Paso PD and many more agencies.
"This was a very successful operation due to the outstanding collaboration of multiple agencies working towards combating human trafficking,” DPS West Texas Regional Director Jose Sanchez said in a media release. "Human trafficking is on the rise, and we need the community's assistance in reporting human trafficking; if you see something, please say something."
There were 53 people arrested for solicitation of prostitution:
From Midland: 41-year-old Hashiem Phillips, 30-year-old Gilberto Hernandez, 30-year-old Alex Garcia, 38-year-old Andrew Berting, 31-year-old Andrew Molinar, 23-year-old Angel Ramos, 28-year-old Caleb Huntley, 34-year-old Ryan Montes, 39-year-old John Jasso and 36-year-old Joshua Moore.
From Odessa: 54-year-old Russell Pharris Jr, 48-year-old Brandon Phillips, 25-year-old John Nanez, 29-year-old Jacob Davis, 49-year-old Agapito Avalos, 45-year-old Newell Johnston, 19-year-old Jaye Saenz, 28-year-old Caleb Huntley, 51-year-old Raymond Mendoza, 52-year-old Michael Brown, 39-year-old John Jasso and 34-year-old Ryan Montes.
From El Paso: 55-year-old Jesus Baron, 28-year-old Justo Munoz Jr, 41-year-old Ascary Parra, 23-year-old Luis Valenzuela, 28-year-old Yasser Antonio Albornoz, 38-year-old Charles Anthony Calixte, 25-year-old Feliciano Lisandro Galvan, 44-year-old Guillero Gomez, 38-year-old Jose Antonio Gutierrez, 40-year-old Fernando Aguilar and 48-year-old Steven Dion Howard.
Other people arrested include 53-year-old Sylvester Cherry of San Angelo, 31-year-old Matthew Mabry, 45-year-old Mart Vaughn, 48-year-old Jason Soliz, 54-year-old Gary Davis from Artesia, 23-year-old Luis Valenzuela, 39-year-old James Flint, 50-year-old Shane Vincent, 37-year-old David Walley, 29-year-old Jacob Davis, 36-year-old Christopher Hammons, 28-year-old Dakota Walker, 26-year-old Izavier West, 54-year-old Ricardo Venzor, 20-year-old Tyrick Javion Ricks, 25-year-old Feliciano Lisandro Galvan, 33-year-old Javier De La Rosa, 34-year-old Michael Anthony Garcia, 36-year-old Heinrich Braun Weibe and 32-year-old Denzel Tucker Hendricks Sr.
35-year-old Isreal Segura of Lubbock was arrested for prostitution.
DPS agents also worked with several organizations targeting massage parlors in Midland County. The goal was to target massage parlors suspected of prostitution to try to locate human trafficking victims or suspects. Four people were arrested for prostitution: 58-year-old Gui Gui Li, 54-year-old Liqing Du, 59-year-old Chongmei Wei and 47-year-old Tianrong Xiao. In addition, 53-year-old Wen Qin was arrested for operating without a marriage license.
People who are victims of human trafficking or have information about human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
People can also report suspicious behavior at iwatchtx.org, their app or calling 1-844-643-2251.
