Police and court documents show charges also pending for two additional men alleged to be involved with the prostitution ring or brothel operations. Agents placed the residence under surveillance and observed several men shuttling young Hispanic women to and from the residence, sometimes carrying luggage.
Investigators also watched as men would enter the residence, stay for about 15 minutes, then leave. On East Penn Steet, agents once again observed activity believed to be related to prostitution, with young women being delivered to the location and men coming in and out and only staying for a short period of time. On Sept. They had the informant place a call to brothel operators to have a prostitute delivered to a room investigators had rented. The alleged prostitute, Santiago Martinez, was driven to the location by Ruiz.
According to the arresting affidavit, Santiago Martinez immediately told police she was acting of her own volition and no one was forcing her to engage in the activity. In interviews with police, both are reported to have admitted to being involved with the prostitution operation. Ruiz told investigators, he was recruited by an unknown man several weeks prior to work as a driver for the ring.
She also said Ruiz would take all of the money she received after seeing a client and she would see approximately six clients per day. The sting also netted Garcia and Dela Cruz, after the informant called asking for another prostitute at the hotel. In an interview with investigators Garcia reportedly admitted to being an undocumented immigrant and a former gang member who had previously been arrested on prostitution-related charges in New York.
He also reportedly told investigators that a brothel operator would perform weekly surveillance of the Norristown police station to look for any new undercover vehicles. Dela Cruz told authorities she lived with Garcia and slept in his basement. Days after the sting, investigators issued a search and seizure warrant for the East Penn Street location.
