Shooting Triggers Standoff At Possible Brothel
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Heavily armed law enforcement officers cordoned off a home described by neighbors as a known brothel after shots were fired at a vehicle Sunday.
A SWAT team surrounded a home on Andrewsarah Court in South Sacramento after searching for a gunman who opened fire from the front lawn at an unknown victim Sunday afternoon. Authorities carefully searched the structure and did not locate the suspect.
Witnesses said they saw a number of women inside the home being driven away shortly after the shooting, and neighbors say the home frequently houses prostitutes.
"I've seen them parading up and down the street," said one woman, who asked not to be identified. "Kids can't play outside because the pervs come over here, looking for sex."
The pimp who runs the operation is violent, and some of the women may be forced to sell their bodies, neighbors said.
Since October, police have responded to the home four times for violent incidents, including fights and a report that a man was beating a woman outside with a belt.
The home is registered to a credit union out of Walnut Creek. Nobody at the company was available for comment Sunday.
Deputies say it's difficult to make prostitution arrests without conducting a sting operation, and recent budget cuts taken away the resources to do so.
