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Warren police charge four women in effort to curb prostition near downtown
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Four area women were arraigned Thursday in Warren Municipal Court on misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution or loitering to engage in soliciting prostitution after the Warren Police Department conducted an undercover investigation Wednesday night.
A police officer dressed in plain clothes and using an unmarked vehicle parked his car in the 200 block of Washington Street around 6 p.m.
Billie Jo Williams, 32, of a nearby North Park Avenue address approached him within two to three minutes, he said.
She was slurring her words and staggering and later offered “the whole nine yards” for $100, the officer said.
She later clarified what she was offering.
Williams was the first of four women who were arrested over several hours in an area just north of downtown that has been known for prostitution for many years.
The four pleaded not guilty, and bonds of $1,000 to $1,500 were set for each.
Besides Williams, the three are Jessica M. Buzzelli, 35, of Vine Avenue Northeast; Hope Cline, 33, of Pendleton Road in Leavittsburg and Mauro Circle in Warren; and Gladys A. Postlethwait, 44, of Raveloe Court in Leavittsburg and Vermont Street Northwest.
Police said the investigation was conducted in the area just north of downtown because of complaints from citizens regarding females walking the area and flagging down cars.
Each of the women has numerous arrests through the county jail for a variety of offenses.
All have been arrested on at least one drug-paraphernalia charge in the past.
Washington Street resident Bruce Ramey, who speaks regularly to Warren City Council about prostitution and drugs in his neighborhood, said he applauds the police department for what they did.