From The Trussille Tribune staff reports
SHELBY COUNTY — A prostitution sting in Shelby County on Thursday landed 11 people in jail, including eight from Jefferson County.
The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force (SCDETF), in partnership with the Hoover Police Department, conducted the operation.
The recent arrests concluded a yearlong undercover reverse prostitution sting, titled Operation Close Out. The Oct. 10 operation was carried out in North Shelby County in the Riverchase area.
The operation is a continuation from similar operations previously conducted on Sept. 20, 2018, Oct. 18, 2018, Feb. 7, 2019, as well as May 24, 2019, in which a total of 46 offenders have been arrested prior to the Oct. 10 operation, according to law enforcement.
“The purpose of these operations is to aggressively pursue patrons of the sex-trafficking industry, which is directly connected to human trafficking,” the agency noted in a statement. “Furthermore, law enforcement wishes to demonstrate a zero-tolerance for criminal solicitation and to aggressively attack the demand for these type enterprises.”
Those arrested in the Oct. 10, 2019, operation were:
• Ajaysia Clifton-Hill, 22, of Birmingham
• Anthony Weed, 48, of Enterprise
• Ariel Shaw, 22, of Bessemer
• Christy McPherson, 40, of Birmingham
• Daniel Willis, 38, of West Blockton
• David Stopak, 56, of Birmingham
• Jordan Dennis, 28, of Birmingham
• Emmalynn Brown, 20, of Bessemer
• Eric Baker, 35, of Hoover
• Lennard Westerfield, 32, of Hueytown
• Martin Novak, 49, of Helena
In accordance with state law, the mug shots of two people charged with prostitution will not be published.
