"Police say Merrimac couple ran prostitution ring in home" by Aneri PattaniGlobe Correspondent March 09, 2015
A Merrimac couple were arraigned Monday in Newburyport District Court for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of their home, officials said.
Must not have been an elite one.
Robert Jones, 33, and Marie Shelley Jones, 28, were ordered held on $2,000 bail by Judge Allen Swan, said Carrie Kimball Monahan, a spokeswoman for the Essex County district attorney’s office.
Robert Jones was charged with deriving support from prostitution, keeping a disorderly house, and possessing a dangerous weapon.
Marie Shelley Jones was charged with sexual conduct for a fee and keeping a disorderly house. If she posts bail, the judge ordered her to remain drug- and alcohol-free, submit to random screening, and get any treatment deemed necessary, Monahan said.
The couple were arrested Friday at 24 Nichols St., after police conducted a three-month investigation into their alleged criminal activity, Police Chief Eric Shears said in a statement.
Since the investigation began in December, officers observed “numerous vehicles and lone men” visiting the house, day and night, police said. They also said they had seen Robert Jones acting in a suspicious manner around the vehicles of his wife’s alleged “johns,” including checking for unlocked doors while they were inside with her.
Police set up an undercover operation Friday and a State Police trooper met with Marie Shelley Jones.
She agreed to perform a sex act for $100, police said. Police then arrested the couple.
Robert Jones also had an outstanding warrant out of New Hampshire for possession of heroin and clonazepam, making false statements to police, and violation of probation, police said. The couple were due back in court April 8 for a pretrial conference.
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