Cops: Local men nabbed in prostitution sting
An undercover female police officer helped nab three Riverside men and two others for charges of patronizing a prostitute as part of a reverse prostitution sting Friday in the Riverside area, Southampton Town police said.
The officer who posed as a prostitute was solicited for sex or other sex acts from the local men: Charles J. Hightower, 55, Eduardo Xuya-Tocay, 27, and Edalberto Velasquez, 24, all of whom were charged with third-degree patronizing a prostitute, a misdemeanor, police said.
Mr. Hightower faces a slew of additional charges after police said he possessed cocaine with intent to sell it for sex. Police also determined he was currently on parole and had an active bench warrant for a disorderly conduct arrest from Southampton Town police stemming from a previous incident in Bridgehampton, police said.
Mr. Hightower was charged with two felonies: third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said. He was also charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.
Mr. Xuya-Tocay was also charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle for not having a valid driver’s license, police said.
Also arrested in the prostitution sting were Jose Luis Rodriguez-Perez, 41, of Hampton Bays and Miguel A. Hernandez, 32, of Southampton.
The sting, run by members of the Community Response Unit with assistance from patrol officers, was in response to community complaints about frequent street-side prostitution, police said.
