Law enforcement agencies from all over the bay area teamed up with the FBI and local Sonoma County agencies and the Santa Rosa Police to run three concurrent operations to address a growing number of advertisements placed on-line to solicit commercial sex services in Sonoma County. Many of the ads mentioned Graton Resort and Casino in Rhonert Park, but only as a landmark and potential meeting place. The Casino has no attached hotel facilities itself, and law enforcement wanted to be quite clear that the Casino management and operators are in no way associated or condoning of the prostitution and trafficking activities.
The simultaneous stings went on in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, and Santa Rosa in various hotels and motels, each one targeting a different aspect of the problem. In Petaluma the operation targeted people providing commercial sex, sometimes with underage victims of sex trafficking. In this case, detectives arranged a meeting at a hotel room for sex, and when the prostitute showed up, that person was arrested, along with anyone who came to help. Sunny Lauchaire, 37 and Kerri Sinkus, 49 of Santa Rosa, Jessica Carillo, 20 and Kandice Jones, 21 of Sacramento, Jessica Steiner, 27 of Livermore and Jamisynn Obryan, 25 of Lower Lake were all arrested at the scene. Michael (or Marcus) Forster, 27 of Sacramento was charged with aiding in prostitution, and two other un-named suspects are under investigation for aiding as well.
In Rohnert Park the sting was based on subjects who responded to advertisements for commercial sex services. Detectives had placed ads on prostitution related sites and arranged for their “customers” to meet them at a hotel, where they expected to hook up as advertised. They arrested Roberto Rodriguez Estrada, 46 of Windsor, Steve Paredes, 23 of Petaluma, Ezequil Marquez-Cortez, 41, Randy Bodmer, 39, and Christian Sanabria, 21 all of Santa Rosa. The five men were all charged with solicitation of prostitution.
The new Graton Casino and Resort in Rohnert Park has attracted a lot of attention lately
The Santa Rosa sting was similar, but with an emphasis on under-aged subjects. Two men were arrested in that sting for specifically arranging to meet up with a 13-year-old girl the undercover detectives had promoted. Benito Martinez Guzman, 35 and Cesar Briceno, 45, both of Santa Rosa, were arrested on charges of arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purposes. Also arrested in Santa Rosa, but not with specific charges involving a minor, were James Joseph Erickson, 59 of Petaluma, Roger Cardona, 31, Heriberto Cruz Ramirez, 23, Anthony Zapata, 40, and Angel Cazarez, 37, all of Santa Rosa.
19 agencies, including local police, county sheriff’s, and federal agencies provided personnel to carry out this extensive operation. They all worked closely with the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force, which is itself made up of people from the District Attorney’s office, the Sonoma Sheriff’s Department, and Sonoma County Police Departments. They in turn collaborated with organizations such as Verity, Sonoma County Family, Youth and Children’s Services, Drug Abuse Alternatives Center, Face 2 Face, Social Advocates for Youth, the Windsor Soroptimists, and the Crossing The Jordan Foundation.
