Updated at 12:30 p.m. to indicate both were formally charged.
CEDAR RAPIDS – Police arrested two more people in another prostitution sting Wednesday night in southeast Cedar Rapids.
LaTasha M. White
LaTasha M. White, 27, of Cedar Rapids, and Ricky L. Pottebaum, 42, of Earlville, were arrested in separate incidents on Second Avenue SE. Police have made four arrests for prostitution in that area in the last six days.
Around 8 p.m. Wednesday, an undercover officer was driving in the 1400 block of Second Avenue SE when White approached the vehicle. White was intoxicated and offered the officer money in exchange for sex, according to the police report.
White has been charged with prostitution and public intoxication.
About two hours later, two female officers were walking in the 1300 block of Second Avenue SE when Pottebaum pulled up in a minivan, police said. The conversation quickly took a sexual turn.
Ricky L. Pottebaum
Pottebaum offered the undercover officers money for sex, according to the officers. He was charged with prostitution and driving with a suspended license.
Both were taken to the Linn County Jail.
Late last week, undercover officers arrested two women for prostitution in the 1300 block of Second Avenue SE. Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Wednesday’s arrests are the 20th and 21st for prostitution in Cedar Rapids this year.
She said the location where undercover officers were sent was picked at random.
“It’s kind of like a fishing expedition,” Hamblin said. “If you catch a couple good ones in one place, you’ll go back to the same spot.”
