TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

The owner of a prominent Ocala real estate firm was arrested on charges of soliciting a prostitute on Friday.  Fred Roberts, Sr., 71, was one of seven men arrested on allegations of solicitation for prostitution.  The prostitution sting was conducted by the Multi-Agency Drug Enforcement Team, which is a task force comprised of officers from various local law enforcement agencies.

The undercover operation, one of three or four that the task force conducts each year, occurred in the area of 3600 W. State Road 40 between 3 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.  Sgt. Lee Whitston, who supervised the operation, said the team used female officers to pose as prostitutes. Men who approached them for sex were taken to a hotel room, where they were arrested.

According to an Ocala Police Department arrest report, Roberts approached a female undercover officer at about 4 p.m. and offered $50 in exchange for sex. He told officers he had never picked up prostitutes in Ocala but had done so in Tampa and had not been caught, the report stated.  Roberts was booked into the Marion County Jail at 6:30 p.m. and released on $500 bail.

If you have been arrested or charged with a sex, prostitution or other criminal offense in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

Atlanta Braves pitcher, Deunte Heath, 24, was arrested in Kissimmee, Florida during a Craigslist prostitution sting operation.  Heath, of Decatur, Georgia, was released after posting $2,000 bond from the Osceola County jail.  According to Kissimmee police investigators, Heath is accused of agreeing to pay $75 for a undisclosed sex act with a prostitute. 

According to Atlanta Braves officials, Heath, a minor league pitcher with the organization, was suspended and sent back to his Decatur, Georgia home after the incident.   Heath was in Central Florida with the rest of his team for Braves spring training headquartered at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Heath faces charges of soliciting a prostitute and entering a dwelling for prostitution, jail records show. Prior to signing with the Braves, Heath played college baseball at the University of Tennessee and was the Braves’ 19th-round pick in the 2006 amateur draft. He played in 32 minor-league games last year, seven with the Class AAA Gwinnett Braves and 25 with the Class AA the Mississippi Braves.

Police said detectives set up the sting by posting classified ads on the Craigslist and Backpage websites. The men and women arrived Wednesday and Thursday to a townhouse in Kissimmee and agents quickly arrested them.