2 charged in sex trafficking sting. One man said police should thank him

Two men recently nabbed in a sex trafficking sting denied knowing anything, even though police said they watched the men drop off a woman at a Pasco hotel and wait nearby.

Edward L. Nelson had $900 cash on him and a woman’s luggage and belongings inside his SUV when stopped by officers, according to court documents.

And Efrain Gonzalez, arrested as he “aimlessly wandered” the hotel’s hallways, later questioned why detectives weren’t thanking him, documents said. “If it wasn’t for us, the prostitutes wouldn’t be able to get from point A to B.”

Nelson, 28, and Gonzalez, 26, both are charged in Franklin County Superior Court with second-degree promoting prostitution.

The operation was organized by Pasco’s Street Crimes Unit, with help from the county prosecutor’s office and the Sexual, Advocacy & Resource Center, or SARC.

It involved an undercover officer responding to “posted internet ads soliciting money” for sex, court documents said.

The women who had been dropped off by Nelson and Gonzalez both were linked to ads with Western Washington phone numbers, documents said.

Nelson, who lives in Kent, was released from the Franklin County jail on Tuesday after posting bond.

Gonzalez, who’s from the Tri-Cities, remains locked up on $4,500 bail.

Six women were arrested in the sting. Four of them charged in Franklin County District Court with misdemeanor prostitution, while the other two were charged in Superior Court with felony drug possession.

The prostitution cases may end up resolved with sentences in a diversion program or dismissals if investigators determine any of the women were victims of sex trafficking, prosecutors said.

Nelson allegedly drove a woman to the designated hotel at 9:30 p.m., then parked at a nearby gas station.

Meanwhile, the woman who had initially agreed to be paid $300 for sex went to the room, where they asked for up to $400, court documents said.

Once she was arrested, the officer called the same number that was in the ad to confirm it went to the woman’s phone, documents said.

The woman claimed she had been dropped off by an Uber driver. She had ledgers, or pay-owe sheets, which are used by people in the drug or trafficking trade to “keep track of the illegitimate proceeds from their criminal endeavors,” court documents said.

Nelson waited at the gas station for about 15 minutes, then drove off. He was arrested in a traffic stop.

Nelson initially claimed he’d taken a guy to a grocery store. When investigators said they knew he was lying, he changed his story to say he’d driven a woman, whom he had just met, to a nearby auto shop, documents said.

Nelson said the woman had been using cocaine earlier in the day and needed a ride to meet someone at a hotel. He said he didn’t know if she was trying to buy drugs.

Almost an hour later, Gonzalez was seen driving another woman to the hotel.

The woman had agreed to $120 for an hour, but the price increased to $160 once she was in the room with the undercover officer, court documents said. She allegedly was carrying the phone that was listed in the ad.

Detectives watched as Gonzalez parked his sedan in the hotel lot. There were two other men in the car with him.

Several minutes later, Gonzalez walked into the hotel and walked up and down the hallways. He told police he was at the hotel by himself, then admitted to having two others in his car and said they were broke, homeless and in need of a room, documents said.

Asked about the woman he had dropped off, Gonzalez first denied knowing anything about that before acknowledging it and claiming he had just forgotten about her, court documents said.

Gonzalez said he had agreed to give her a ride in exchange for gas money, documents said.

Then, once told he was being arrested for promoting prostitution, prosecutors said he told detectives, “Shouldn’t you guys be thanking us?” and made the comment about prostitutes getting from one place to another.