A 31-year-old Crosby man did not appear in Crow Wing County District Court Friday for his omnibus hearing in front of Judge Richard Zimmerman, but his attorney Dennis Lothspeich was present.
Lothspeich is representing Luke Daniel LaBorde one of the men who faces gross misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution in a public place following a sting in May by law enforcement in Baxter.
LaBorde is one of several men charged in connection with soliciting prostitution in a public place and include former Aitkin Police Chief Scott Leslie Smith, 62; Kevin Michael Desmet Groseclose, 27, Little Falls; Matthew Kevin Berg, 32, Brainerd; Brent Michael Seivert, 42, Breezy Point; Eugene Paul Allord, 47, Little Falls; and Kevin Ames Chase, 49, Akeley.
Lothspeich said he is representing LaBorde on two different files, including the one for soliciting prostitution in a public place and for felony third-degree drug possession, stemming from a charge in 2014.
Lothspeich said the pre-investigation sentencing was not yet complete on the drug charge and they are waiting for information on an order for the solicitation charge and asked for the hearing to be rescheduled. The state prosecution had no issues with resetting the date.
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LaBorde's next court hearing will be at 9 a.m. Sept. 17.
The Baxter Police Department spearheaded a sting operation, which involved the Brainerd Police Department and the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, in May in hopes to uncover the major players in sex trafficking in the Brainerd lakes area.
Between May 19-20, the men - known as "johns" - responded to an advertisement placed by Baxter police on Backpage.com, a classified advertising website the National Center on Sexual Exploitation says generates nearly 80 percent of all online prostitution advertising revenue. The post, placed under the "Escort" section, advertised the services of a fictional 22-year-old woman named Sunny. The ad stated the woman would be in town for one day only and provided fictional photos and a phone number.
The ad - titled "Fun and Frisky platinum BLONDE IN Town May 20th!!!!!" - read: "I'm super HOT & have tight lil' body for giving you a real TREAT!!!"
An undercover officer posing as Sunny on the phone set up appointments at a Baxter hotel with men who called or texted the provided phone number. According to the criminal complaints, the johns allegedly agreed on a price for either a half-hour or hour of time with Sunny.
On May 20, police arrested the men who knocked on the door of a hotel room where they believed Sunny was located.
Two men - LaBorde and Seivert - were transported to the Crow Wing County Jail May 20, while the other men were released at the officers' discretion and informed they would be summoned to court to face charges.
