10 arrested in sex-worker sting in Merced, police say

Ten area men who allegedly tried to buy sex in Merced were arrested this week, Merced police said on Friday.

The Merced Police Department Disruptive Area Response Team and Gang Violence Suppression Unit conducted the undercover operations targeting johns on Thursday, police said in a news release.

All of the men arrested attempted to buy sex through online advertisements, according to police, which were posted by officers on “known commercial sex websites.”

The men called the numbers they found online and negotiated unknowingly with officers, and arranged to purchase sex acts from people they thought were sex workers.

The men were cited for suspicion of soliciting prostitution and released.

The men were Jerry Vargas, 45; Kou Thao, 31; Lue Moua, 40; Mark Mendez, 28; Charlie Fryar, 48; Hector Acosta-Pacheco, 25; Thai Yang, 24; Eric Cervantes, 39; Eduardo Ochoa, 52; and Mariano Merida-Carrasco, 41.

Merced Police are asking anyone with any information regarding these cases to contact Officer Jenkins at 209-385-7773, or the Merced Police Department Tipster Line at 209-385-4725. The public can send information via anonymous text messages to police department by dialing “TIP411” (847411) and including the word “Comvip” as the “keyword” in the text message.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 5:14 PM with the headline "10 arrested in sex-worker sting in Merced, police say."