Agents and investigators in Tuscaloosa made three dozen arrests recently during a human trafficking investigation and a separate undercover prostitution bust, police report.

Captain Phil Simpson, the commander of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, announced the two operations in a Tuesday afternoon press release.

Simpson said the first case began in February and involved a specific human trafficking investigation. That investigation led to 23 arrests, he said.

Additionally, the task force was out in Tuscaloosa last week conducting an undercover detail targeting suspects who were soliciting prostitution - that operation was separate from the other investigation and was not unlike many other stings the task force has run in the area before.

Simpson said the undercover detail led to 13 more arrests.

“Our task force operates on the principle that buyers of commercial sex allow the trafficker to run a profitable operation,” Captain Simpson said. “Simply put, without the demand, there would be no need for the supply. Our ultimate goal is to stop people from being exploited and victimized by traffickers.”

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One Victim, 23 Arrests

Police say the larger human trafficking investigation began on February 7th, when investigators with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation spoke to a woman at a Tuscaloosa hotel and suspected she might be the victim of human trafficking.

Simpson said the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force responded to the hotel, where volunteers with Trafficking Hope helped the victim obtain medical care and other essentials.

Agents gathered enough information to charge Cedric Marquis Spencer, 31, of Tuscaloosa with first-degree human trafficking that day.

That single case has led to an additional 22 arrests in the 10 or so weeks since it began.

In each case, the suspects were charged with one or multiple counts of soliciting prostitution. None of people arrested in this follow-up were charged with felonies, and it is the general policy of the Thread to not publish the names of criminal suspects who are only accused of committing misdemeanors.

• Lawrence Green, 56, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 3/21. Bond: $300

• Preston Rush Reynolds, 23, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 3/21. Bond: $300

• Tevin Holmes, 24, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 3/22. Bond: $300.

• Cameron Grant, 24, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/1. Bond: $300.

• Brandon Scott Tucker, 32, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/2. Bond: $300.

• Darius Darnelle Williams, 29, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution on 4/2. Bond:
$600.

• Anthony Neal Chavers Jr., 35, of Tuscaloosa was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/3. Bond: $300.

• Nickarius Beale, 29, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/1. Bond: $300.

• Aaron Brooks, 24, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/1. Bond: $300.

• Demonte Person, 25, of Memphis, Tenn., was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/4. Bond: $300.

• Samuel Boykin, 32, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with three counts of soliciting prostitution on 4/3. Bond: $900.

• Mohmmed Hammoudeh, 36, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/1. Bond: $300.

• Cedric Jones, 48, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/15. Bond: $300.

• Joshua Samuel, 28, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/1. Bond: $300.

• Quintavius Goodson, 26, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/22. Bond: $300.

• Antonio Demarcus Brown, 37, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/17. Bond: $300.

• Frank Hutton, 39, of Northport, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/22. Bond: $300.

• Raeshad Hoskins, 25, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/1. Bond: $300.

• Johnathan Gordon, 31 of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/29. Bond: $300.

• Reginald Eatmon, 38, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/28. Bond: $300.

• Roshard White, 42, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/12. Bond: $300.

• Chester Jones, 40, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/4. Bond: $300.

• Chico Hayward, 44, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 4/17. Bond: $300.

Sting Operation Nets 13 More Arrests

The undercover detail was conducted last week, and during the operation, police officers posed as women offering sex for sale on different apps and websites.

That detail involved the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Hoover Police Department, the Tuscaloosa Police Cyber Intelligence Division, the University of Alabama’s Institute for Data Analysis and aid once again from Trafficking Hope.

Police say the following suspects were arrested following the weekend detail:

• Ranier Colvin, 26, of Decatur, was charged with promoting prostitution and attempting to elude on 5/13. Bond: $600.

• Kyle Gardner, 27, of Birmingham, was charged with soliciting prostitution, first-degree possession of marijuana and resisting arrest on 5/11. Bond will be set by a judge.

• Kadarius Hill, 35, of Northport, was charged with sexual misconduct and resisting arrest on 5/9. Bond: $600.

• Damian Hall, 28, of Northport, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/10. Bond: $300.

• Kinzell Bridges, 27, of Thomaston, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/11. Bond: $300.

• Kaushik Patel, 68, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/10. Bond: $300.

• Martin Litton Jr., 44, of Centreville, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/10. Bond: $300.

• Kyle Spears, 42, of Pine Hill, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/10. Bond: $300.

• Juan Eliseo Francisco, 37, of Buhl, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/9. Bond $300.

• Markeith Rollins, 35, of Tuscaloosa, was charged with soliciting prostitution and second-degree possession of
marijuana on 5/10. Bond: $600.

• Shannon Shinholster, 51, of Berry, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/10. Bond $300.

• David Allen Henderson Jr., 55, of Slidell, La., was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/9. Bond: $300.

• Xavier Harris, 31, of Fosters, was charged with soliciting prostitution on 5/9. Bond: $300.

For more coverage of crime and courts in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.