INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — An ongoing investigation that could connect Solomon with an armed robbery reported at a gas station in Port St. Lucie could bring more charges for the man arrested for human and drug trafficking charges last Friday.
According to the arrest affidavit, Port St. Lucie Police Det. Chris Fulcher is continuing to investigate the incident that occurred on April 9.
The account of the armed robbery matches the description of an incident one of the sex trafficking victims described to Indian River County law enforcement.
The victim said on one occasion, a man tried to pay her in fake money, which prompted Solomon to force the man to drive to a gas station to take money out of an ATM under the threat of a supposed gun. The man then told the gas station clerk to call 911 because he had been kidnapped and robbed.
Solomon could be pegged with more charges in relation to the armed robbery at the conclusion of the investigation.
Det. Ross Partee’s investigation into the human trafficking charges are also continuing for Indian River County, as he will be interviewing more victims in the coming days.
“Everything that we have right now leads us to believe that [Solomon] is the only one, we are not looking for other suspects,” said Sgt. Eric Flowers, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office public information officer. “But we are looking for other victims,” Flowers added.
Ages of the girls and/or women affected by Solomon have not been released in order to protect the victims. The number of victims is still unknown as the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with more information on potential victims are encouraged to contact law enforcement.
This article will be updated if more information becomes available.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Thomas Solomon III, of Vero Beach, is being held on human trafficking, morphine trafficking, and more charges after a tip from a concerned citizen led to a one-month long undercover operation that put Solomon behind bars on Friday.
The 28-year-old is currently being held on $545,000 bond after law enforcement arrested him in an undercover drug operation, according to a statement issued by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives were advised by an anonymous person that Solomon was forcing young women to commit commercial sex acts and confirmed that Solomon listed “several young females on a website known for prostitution.”
Law enforcement observed that the Parkway Plaza apartments, Quality Inn, the Howard Johnson hotel all in Vero Beach on US 1, and a residence in Port Saint Lucie were being used to traffic the women.
“After using the drugs and being addicted, the females were informed they ‘owed’ Solomon for the drugs and would have to work the debt off in the form of commercial sexual acts,” according to official documentation. “The females told detectives that if they did not perform sexual acts and immediately turn their earnings over to Solomon, he would threaten or use physical violence against them.”
According to the arrest affidavit, Solomon was “creating a debt from supplying the victims drugs.”
Solomon would then demand the women repay their debt by committing commercial sex acts and surrendering all profits to him.
Detective Clark with the Sheriff’s Office linked advertisements with pictures and descriptions of the victims back to Solomon, and teamed up with Detective Gasparinni who was already tracking Solomon in a drug investigation.
According to the affidavit, one of the victims who agreed to speak with law enforcement told detectives that she “tried to buy a $20 amount of crack cocaine but Solomon just gave it to her.” She added that she and an acquaintance “stayed up all night and Solomon kept providing her drugs.”
The woman said Solomon paid for her hotel room, then told her she had to “work” off her debts. Due to his status as a drug dealer and his reputation as a violent person, the woman said she was scared to refuse the work he demanded.
The woman told law enforcement that Solomon forced her to prostitute four times. Each occasion, Solomon would be nearby, and enter the room immediately after the sex act was complete. He would provide her with Dilaudids and demand all of the money she was given to perform the sex act.
Solomon told the woman that without the Dilaudids that he provided, she would get sick. In addition to being dependent on the drugs, the woman said she was scared to disobey Solomon because she observed him beating other women.
Detective Ross Partee said in a statement, “Young women may meet a man online and think it is safe. There are people out there like Solomon, who want to prostitute young women and get them addicted to drugs. We must continue our mission towards putting these guys behind bars.”
Solomon’s charges include human trafficking, trafficking morphine, felony possession of a controlled substance (Dilaudid), felony possession of cocaine, distribution of a controlled substance (cocaine), felony aggravated child abuse, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
“Solomon’s arrest highlights the importance of our work in online investigations,” stated Detective Jeremy Shepherd.
Sheriff Deryl Loar echoed the importance of online investigations and the seriousness of tackling sex crimes in Indian River County in a statement.
“Our detectives continue to eradicate Indian River County of the criminal element,” Loar said. “Human trafficking and underage sex cases are of utmost importance to our mission. We are proud of Detectives Partee and Shepherd and how they continue to outsmart the bad guys in these cases.”
This article will be updated if more information is released.
