Police: 9 people charged in Internet ad prostitution bust

Anne Arundel County detectives conduct sting in Hanover hotel district

HANOVER, Md. —Anne Arundel County police said nine people were charged with prostitution after responding to Internet ads posted by undercover detectives.

Authorities said they conducted an Internet prostitution sting operation in the Hanover Hotel District in which undercover detectives posed as escorts on an Internet website commonly used for the purposes of prostitution.

During the course of the operation, detectives received phone calls and text messages from 69 different phone numbers. Several of the initial contacts were made in an attempt to negotiate prices and schedule appointments for a future time.

The phone numbers used to contact the undercover detectives are being reviewed in an attempt to identify the subscribers.

Police said the following nine people were charged with prostitution and assignation as a result of responding to the Internet advertisements:

• Steven Boyd Bell, 29, of Saltsburg, Pa.

• James Michael Eberhardt, 39, of Fredericksburg, Va.

• Murat Holloway, 20, of Crofton

• Eriksen Eduardo Alarcon Rivera, 24, of Glen Burnie

• Brodrick Allen Johnson, 20, of Odenton

• Joseph Anthony Barnes Jr., 25, of Columbia

• Jason Maurice Watts, 30, of Columbia

• Kwaku A Poku, 27, of Columbia

• Daniel Craig Cardwell, 31, of Woodbine