BORDERLAND

6 arrested in trafficking sting in Perrysburg

12/7/2013

A Toledo man suspected of forcing women into prostitution was one of six men arrested Thursday in a human-trafficking sting in Perrysburg.

Laron Gregory, 34, is charged with one count of promoting prostitution, a fourth-degree felony, during the bust at an undisclosed hotel on Fremont Pike, Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said. Gregory is being held in the Wood County jail on a $25,000 bond.

Arrested for solicitation of a prostitute, a third-degree misdemeanor, were: James Tyrrell, 33, of Bowling Green; Carl Kelley, 44, of Whitehouse; Dennis Mahon, 54, of Toledo, and Michael Palmer, 37, of Ida, Mich. Mounir Boutros, 50, of Sylvania, was arrested for attempted solicitation, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Two women who also were present at the hotel were not arrested because officials suspect they were there against their will, Sheriff Wasylyshyn said.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office, Perrysburg police, and the Ohio Attorney General’s office cooperated in the human-trafficking enforcement effort.