A 22-year-old Morgan Hill woman was arrested for alleged prostitution at a Morgan Hill hotel on Aug. 3.
Morgan Hill police officer David Ray set up a meeting with the alleged prostitute who was offering her services on the craigslist Web site, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. David Swing.Swing.
Jessica Bloomfeldt was cited and released on charges of alleged solicitation and prostitution when she was picked up at 11:40am at the Quality Inn on Condit Road. She apparently made the room reservation after talking on the phone with Ray.
After seeing Bloomfeldt’s advertisement, Ray called the phone number listed and set up an appointment to meet her at the Quality Inn. He and Zen, accompanied by Swing and Det. Kevin Beilmann, arrived at the hotel at 11:40am and arrested Bloomfeldt.
Ray and partner Det. Mindy Zen are the department’s street crimes team focusing on special operations such as the prostitution sting.
“What these officers did was to take a proactive step, helping to make sure we don’t have a prostitution problem in our hotels,” Swing said.
With the advent of sites such as craigslist, it is becoming increasingly common to find both male and female prostitutes advertising on the Internet.
Local special operations officers usually investigate these kinds of cases. This summer, the department has used the temporary street crimes team.
The team has been focusing on so-called “street crimes,” which include gang and drug activity, as well as prostitution.
The team will remain in place through the end of the summer while Ray, who is a school resource officer, is not needed on a regular basis at the high schools.
Zen and Ray have extensive experience in drug and gang enforcement and have participated in intensive training in these areas and work with other agencies dealing with these types of crimes.
