WEST HAVEN, Utah — The Weber County Sheriff’s Office announced that they arrested six people after a successful sting operation in West Haven on Thursday, June 18.
Michael Macias, 30, of Ogden, Hayden Olsen, 20, of West Point, Tyson Malan, 36, of Ogden, Meagan Malan, 40, of Ogden, Donald Russell, 58, of Ogden and Julio Salazar-Arellano, 37, each face a Class A misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute.
Macias and Tyson Malan were also arrested on outstanding warrants unrelated to the operation.
The goal of WCSO's “Operation: GG Kisses" was “to target suspects seeking sexual services for the exchange of money, identify any sexual predators, [and] locate any victims of Human Trafficking,” a statement on the Weber County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page said.
According to official indictment documents, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office posted advertisements on “known prostitution websites,” providing rates for sexual acts. Each suspect is accused of responding to one of the ads and arranging to meet for sex or sexual favors in exchange for money. According to the probable cause statement for Russell, he also wanted to use a Bluetooth speaker and a laptop as payment.
An undercover detective met each of the suspects at a local hotel, where the suspects were then taken into custody.
Under Utah law, patronizing a prostitute is a Class A misdemeanor, which punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of as much as $2,500.
