JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Five women were arrested Wednesday on Philips Highway during a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office prostitution sting.
Sariah Lynn Hammock, 33; Kelley Storch, 30; Justine Zimmerman, 40; Pandora Moline, 63; and Brandy Flemmings are all facing prostitution charges after they agreed to perform sexual acts in exchange for money with “clients” who were actually undercover detectives.
The bust was part of a citywide sweep this week to cut down on the prostitution trade in Jacksonville.
“The vice squad, they go around throughout the year making these types of arrests,” News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said. “It's not really unusual. They do this on a regular basis. It seems like no matter how many arrests they make, there are still more and more people out there doing this.”
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According to their police reports, it was the seventh prostitution arrest for Moline, the fourth for Hammock and the second for Storch.
The police reports said the undercover detectives drove down Philips Highway, a well-known area for prostitution in Jacksonville, and made contact with the women near St. Augustine Road.
Zimmerman got into a car with one detective and agreed to have sex and perform oral sex on the detective for $80. She was busted and is facing her first prostitution charge.
Moline and Storch offered oral sex for $40 to undercover detectives, and Hammock accepted $35 to perform oral sex.
After the agreements were made, the detectives signaled other officers to come make the arrests.
Smith said it's crucial for the sheriff's office to get prostitutes off the streets for the sake of the quality of life in Jacksonville.
“When you have prostitution, eventually you start to have drug sales, and then you start to have violent crimes, so it is important to get this off the streets as quickly as you can,” Smith said. “Also you're looking at the spread of sexual diseases and different social issues that you just don't want to have in an area.”
According to the JSO crime-mapping tool, these were the first prostitution arrests within a mile radius of that area since the beginning of the year.
To see what types of crimes are happening in your neighborhood, go to http://www.coj.net/departments/sheriffs-office/crime-statistics-information-acceptance.aspx.