Police Arrest 24 in Prostitution Sting

Pasadena police say members of the department’s Special Investigations Unit arrested 18 men and six women in a prostitution sting operation along East Colorado Boulevard on Wednesday.

The arrests number 20 misdemeanor charges for prostitution and four felony arrests for pandering and narcotics violations.

The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor offense is 6 months in jail, a $500 fine, and the impounding of the arrestee’s vehicle, police say. All arrestees must also attend AIDS awareness classes and they themselves are tested for the presence of HIV.

Authorities say that the Special Investigations Unit conducts undercover stings such as this one throughout Pasadena to address the complaints of residents and business owners about the negative effects prostitution brings into neighborhoods.