CRIMES

Human trafficking arrest made

An arrest made in February of this year by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office has led to the discovery of a human trafficking ring, authorities said.

Martha Bustos, 48, of Larose, was arrested on Feb. 19 and charged with transporting persons for prostitution after an undercover investigation led detectives to believe she was coordinating payments and transporting prostitutes to clients’ homes, according to LPSO spokesman Sgt. Brennan Matherne. After Bustos’ arrest, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents continued the investigation.

Bustos was released from Lafourche Parish jail the following day after posting a $25,000 bond, Matherne said.

Females from outside the country were allegedly lured by smugglers with the promise of legitimate work in the United States, Matherne said. In return for being smuggled into the country, the females agreed to pay the smugglers back for the cost of getting them into the country. LPSO investigators believe that instead, the females were actually forced into prostitution to pay the debts owed to smugglers, the spokesman said.

Matherne said Bustos’ arrest was not heavily publicized earlier this year because LPSO detectives did not want to sour federal authorities’ investigation or put the alleged prostitutes’ lives in jeopardy.

Through questioning after her arrest, Bustos allegedly told detectives that she coordinated business in the South Lafourche area with other individuals from whom she would pick up new females every couple of weeks who would begin prostituting, Matherne said.

Bomb threat a hoax

A bomb scare forced a downtown Thibodaux business to evacuate customers briefly Sunday while authorities investigated a caller’s threat.

A man called the business around 5:30 p.m. saying he’d placed a bomb inside, Thibodaux Police spokesman David Melancon said. The business was cleared while police and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office K9 units searched the building. The search took about an hour.

Melancon said the call was a hoax.

Detectives are searching for the caller, who will likely face terrorizing charges, the spokesman said.

“Considering everything that’s going on across the country – across the world right now – especially the events that just transpired in Paris, you get someone calling in a bomb threat, that’s going to cause people to panic,” Melancon said. “That event, though it may not affect everyone the same way, some can walk out of there feeling traumatized so that they don’t feel safe going out in public anymore. So what that person did, even though it was determined to be a false alarm, that person robbed people of their peace of mind.”

5-time thief caught for crayon theft

Blame it on her artistic side, but a five-time convicted thief is in hot water again – this time for stealing crayons and ink pens, according to Thibodaux authorities.

Janell Davis, 36, of 1219 Josephine St. in Franklin, is facing felony theft of goods and failing to appear on two counts of theft of goods charges, according to Thibodaux Police spokesman David Melancon. Davis reportedly entered a store in the 500 block of St. Mary Street, purchased candy and chips, but failed to pay for the stolen items she had in her possession, the spokesman said.

A store employee reportedly followed Davis into the parking lot, demanding she return the crayons and ink pens, which she did, Melancon said. She surrendered the items and apologized, but when police learned she had been charged for theft of goods five times within the past 10 years, she was charged with the felony. She also had warrants for failing to show up in court for two other theft charges.

Melancon said Davis is being held in lieu of a $15,000 bond.

Bustos