Many in the Minneapolis area are no doubt talking about the recent prostitution sting operation along Lake Street. Responding to neighborhood complaints, officers conducted a prostitution sting operation between 3rd Avenue South and 17th Avenue South. In total, 53 alleged customers were arrested.
The sting operation targeted this area of Lake Street during the lunch hour and also at night. The police detail ended up leading to 53 alleged prostitution customer arrests, one arrest for allegedly promoting prostitution, three narcotics arrests and five misdemeanor arrests. The misdemeanors were related to obstructing and loitering.
In looking at a case such as this one, where a sting operation leads to a large number of prostitution and solicitation arrests, it may seem rather straight forward at first. However, the truth is that when it comes to sting operations there are a number of constitutional issues and police procedures that can come into question. An attorney with experience handling criminal defense cases in Minneapolis will know what to look for in these types of cases.
For example, in sting operations where undercover police officers are wearing wires, the sound quality is often too poor to really make out what a person was supposedly saying. This alone could end up leading to the charges being dropped.
Of course, this is just one example. As mentioned, a criminal defense attorney will know what to look for when sting operations are involved and can also provide information related to plea bargains when involvement is not as much of a question.
Source: Kare 11, “Prostitution sting nets 53 Johns in Minneapolis,” July 20, 2013