SAN ANTONIO—By now it should be no surprise that the popular website Craigslist can serve as a place to solicit prostitution. However, one Bexar County constable claims it happens all the time.
Precinct 3 constable Mark Vojvodich showed KENS 5 a recent ad on Craigslist for the San Antonio area. It said a "mature professional" was looking for a "wild snow bunny." However, Vojvodich said certain words are a red flag for police.
The constable said the word "snow" is often code for cocaine, and that’s how they were alerted to the man who was allegedly trying to obtain sex in exchange for drugs.
Vojvodich said after officers made arrangements to meet with their suspect using a decoy, they were able to arrest 48-year-old Sundeep Singh. The Constable’s Office said Singh brought a variety of drugs and is being charged with possession of drugs.
Just days later Vojvodich showed KENS 5 another similar posted Craigslist ad. The new ad made it evident the poster wanted a woman in exchange for "Tina." The constable said "Tina" is often code word for methamphetamine.
Another arrest was made by having the suspect believe he was meeting someone for a bit of fun, but he was actually being tricked into meeting officers. In that sting, officers said they arrested Jon Randall Alworth, 52, from Houston.
"We don’t want prostitution. We don’t want the drug sales, and we certainly don’t want it coming across an anonymous media such as Craigslist so that it can involve kids, children or, people who really aren’t aware of what they’re getting into," said Vojvodich.
It was also clear these two men weren’t your run of the mill criminals, either.
The constable’s office said Singh admitted to being a self-employed, successful business owner, while Alworth told officers he was a lawyer from Houston.
What may be more surprising is how often the officers claim they could catch people soliciting drugs for sex online.
"We could do it every day," said Vojvodich. "We could do it every day, 4 or 5 times a day, if we had that man power."
Vojvodich said Singh and Alworth are facing charges of possession of drugs.
The Bexar County Constable’s Office said both were originally also charged with solicitation of prostitution, but that charge was dropped since it is a misdemeanor. Police said both men bailed out on $10,000 bonds.
